Dawn of Hikarigakure no Sato
by Kurogane7
Summary: The Darkness still lives. But for every shadow, there is always the Light...and with a new generation of Guardians, the Traveler may very will have a chance to fight back. Forces of Darkness: Vex and Hive (others mentioned), Likely Naru/Harem. Now Rated M for nudity.
1. Rebirth

**_A/N: Damn it. I've been bitten by the idea bug once again…this time in my hometown of Los Angeles. At this rate, I may beat NeonZangetsu's record for unfinished stories._**

 ** _There will be no alien forces of the Darkness in this story (at least not yet). But I can assure you, the Darkness still lives._**

 ** _As usual the number of reviews will determine if this is worth going past a pilot episode, so do read and review would you kindly?_**

* * *

[Unknown Location]

"Guardian, wake up."

Naruto groaned as he sat up, his eyes cracking open as his vision began to clear. The blurriness had faded away to reveal a floating metallic sphere surrounded by eight separate points. It looked back at him through a hole in the sphere with four squares lit up to form an X-shape. He leaped back in surprise as he began to check his surroundings. "Where am I?" he then turned to face the small thing that woke him up. "What are you?"

"I'm a Ghost," answered the little thing, the four points at the front turning. They moved in and out as the sphere seemed to be talking. "Well, I'm -your- Ghost. As to where we are, we're a long ways away from the Valley of the End. Good thing too; you just so happened to wash up in the direction I wanted to take you and—"

"Woah, woah! Slow down! What's this about being a ghost?" Naruto asked panicked.

"I am a Ghost. A computer construct designed to help you interact with the world as a Guardian and…" the Ghost had shut up when it noticed that Naruto had both a confused and wary expression on his face. "…Oh, you're not getting anything I'm saying, are you?"

"No shit."

The Ghost sighed as it looked down, nodding as if in exasperation. "It's probably better if you follow me. This way, I can explain things better to you."

He had no idea where he was. And as much as Naruto wanted to tell the little Ghost-thing where it could shove its explanation, he had no other choice. The incident at the Valley of the End had ended with him being sent down river to a strange place. He also remembered falling on…

"If you still want that explanation on what happened, I would be willing to fill you in." reminded the Ghost, "Either way, you have to come with me. There's someone I want you to meet."

No other choice. He had to follow the floating eyeball to wherever it went. Naruto followed it towards a forest, watching as it effortlessly glided past the branches to show him where to go. Fortunately, it was a straight path so far.

"What happened?" asked Naruto, pushing a branch aside, "Last thing I remember, I was being tossed into some really big rocks, and then falling down a waterfall and onto some really big and sharp ones."

"Normally you should not have survived that fall." answered Ghost, turning to face him as it floated towards its destination. "It wasn't easy to pull your body off of that rock. In fact, you would not have survived at all; regardless if your tenant managed to save you."

Naruto's eyes had widened. "How did you know about that?"

"Simple. As I brought you back from death, I had a glimpse at your chakra coils." the Ghost nonchalantly replied, "They were -very- extensive for a human. They also made you an especially good candidate for turning you into a Guardian; better than most people and shinobi I might add."

"And what's this 'Guardian' thing you're talking about?"

Ghost turned away. "It's probably better if we get to our destination first. That way, all will be explained. There is someone you have to meet."

* * *

[Elsewhere]

It was a good day…relatively speaking of course. In fact, if he were to be honest with himself, Hatake Kakashi was hitting a pretty bad patch as of late. Not only did he lose two students under his watch, but it was because of his own shortcomings as a teacher that one had defected to Otogakure no Sato, while the other was killed by his colleague in the middle defecting. It only served to rub salt in his wounds with the knowledge that both Obito and Minato-sensei would be absolutely livid with him. The former would likely just be disappointed in him, so it probably wouldn't have been so bad; but because he'd failed Minato-sensei's son so extravagantly as a teacher, it was very likely that punishment from him would be more severe. Add to that the fact that Naruto's scent was lost after the conflict at the Valley of the End, and even suicide was seen as an unfavorable option—he just could not bring himself to face either of them, living or dead.

He still visited Sakura from time to time. She didn't do so well after finding out that her own request of Naruto -and his desire to see said promise through to the end- had essentially sent him to his death. Kakashi had tried telling her that Naruto knew the risks he took when he made that promise; whether it was more for her sake, or his own, he was not certain anymore. Were it any other time, he would've been proud of the progress she'd made under Tsunade's tutelage…apparently, her perceived hand at causing Naruto's death had motivated her to no longer be weak.

Speaking of Tsunade, it took a bit of time for Sakura to do so but she managed to convince her to train her in her arts. Because of that, she would go on her way to becoming one of the finest Iryō-nin in the village. But the impact that Sakura's insistence on Tsunade had saved the woman from going into another guilt-driven drinking and gambling binge, much to Shizune's relief. From what he'd seen and heard, the female Sannin was harsh and demanding of her student; likely because she didn't want to lose anybody else.

But going back to the here and now, it was a pretty good day today. Mainly because after weeks of waiting, Kakashi's contacts had finally found his quarry. Now, Naruto's killer would be brought back to the village to face justice from the Hokage herself. He didn't care how much the civilian ass-kissers wanted their precious "Last Uchiha" to be spared any punishment; he was going to see to it that the worst punishment would be issued forth as is reasonable. As loath as he was to admit it, the Sharingan was still a very potent weapon in the hands of a pureblood Uchiha, but only as long as the weapon was raised and trained right. Hopefully, also out of Shimura Danzo's filthy hands to boot.

It took a bit of convincing, but he was able to get Tsunade to make this an off-the-books mission. If he were to be seen in any of the shinobi villages, she would be forced to deny all existence of him. All his records would be destroyed, and he would be branded as an S-class nuke-nin if he failed in his mission that 'never happened.' Given his own failings, Kakashi thought it was a fitting consequence for his mistakes as a teacher.

"Just you wait…I'll get to you soon enough." he said to himself, looking forward to completing this mission. "And believe me, you're _way_ past a slap on the wrist now."

* * *

[Naruto and Ghost]

It took a few days of travel on foot, but Naruto was able to follow Ghost to where it wanted to go. The little machine had advised him to grab some climbing gear due to the fact that he was going into a cave with a deep pit. For some reason, he no longer had the ability to walk up and down walls…nor was he able to create even a single kage bunshin for seeing what was down there.

As he tied the rope down at a sturdy piece of rock, Naruto secured a hook to the rope. "What am I looking for down there?"

"Apart from death, something that will take you to that person faster." answered Ghost, "I've only been reactivated recently. However, my list of functions will allow me to make field repairs. Other than that, you will have to maintain the vessel yourself."

After being satisfied with how tight the rope was, Naruto began to rappel down the steep wall. "Well, whatever it is down here, I hope you're your friend's explanation is worth you getting rid of my chakra."

"We'll see indeed."

A half hour of rappelling down a steep rock wall had found Naruto's feet touching solid ground. Once he found a good footing, he turned on his flashlight, and followed Ghost to wherever it was going. The light had periodically turned to the ground so that he would avoid stepping on anything dangerous…luckily, there were no bats around.

Eventually, the two of them had finally come up to a very large and strange machine. It had a streamlined appearance that swept up to the front in a pair of prongs, and its front profile made it look like a giant 'X'. On its back was another pair of fins that formed a V-shape, and it had a pair of boxes at the bottom with round protrusions sticking out. At the wings near the body of the machine was a pair of flat, rectangular shapes that pointed forward. Time was not so kind to the machine's indigo and orange paint job, but that simply gave it a sort of antiquated beauty that added to the wonder Naruto felt when he gave it a look-over. "What is this thing?"

"A Jumpship," answered Ghost, hovering near the machine. It emitted a cone of bluish light as it inspected the now-named Jumpship. "This will be the vessel that will take you to where my creator is located. I've found it years ago, I can only hope that it's still functioning…" before it could finish its sentence, the machine gave a lively whine. "Yes! We're in luck!"

The Ghost vanished in a puff of smoke. "Guardian, wait just a moment. I'm going to warp you into the ship."

Naruto wondered exactly what the little machine meant, until he saw a cone of bluish light surrounding him. He was just about to ask when his vision was engulfed in light, and he found himself sitting on a soft seat with complicated-looking controls at his fingertips. Strange noises began to fill the air, before the area around him was covered in screens that were covered in strange text that were eventually translated to Kanji and Kana before they showed images that were apparently around the Jumpship. "What the hell is this?"

"You are in the cockpit of the Jumpship…well, _your_ Jumpship now." Ghost explained, appearing next to Naruto's head. "The machine inside has identified you as its master. With this, you don't have to walk to most of your destinations anymore."

This was actually too cool to believe. Even more so when Naruto realized that he knew how to fly this thing. Deciding to have a little fun, and to test out his new flying machine, he gave mental commands to the Jumpship fly out of the cave. Next thing he knew, he was soaring in the clouds, spinning his vehicle in what he now knew as a 'barrel roll,' as well as flipping it over in wide 'Immelmann turns.' He felt the adrenaline pumping through his veins the second he performed the various maneuvers that his muscle-memory prompted him to try out.

"If you're done having fun, we have somewhere to go to."

"Tell me where to go." Naruto said, slowing down his flight.

"We have to head to a location to the east. It's in the middle of the ocean, so you can't miss it."

Whatever it was that Ghost's friend wanted to talk to him about, it was surely going to be a very long talk.

* * *

 ** _A/N: A bit short, but what did you expect from a pilot episode?_**

 ** _Anyway, it should be pretty obvious as to whom Naruto is meeting. Right now however, I'm undecided on a couple of things. One of which being what kind of Guardian Naruto could be (right now, I'm leaning towards Sunsinger or Stormcaller as his starting Class, with a preference for Hand-Cannons). The other being Sasuke's gender in this story (I'll decide what happens later, but suggestions would be nice)._**

 ** _Anyway, in the words of Variks, the Loyal: "Make reviews classy, or die. Your choice."_**

* * *

 ** _Cameos/References_**

 ** _The Jumpship—Gloriole Jump_**


	2. New Mission

_**A/N: Okay, I decided to rewrite the previous chapter a bit to fit what I had on mind for this chapter. No action yet, but I promise you action and a possible aerial dogfight in the future. But all in all, do read and review would you kindly?**_

* * *

[Somewhere over the ocean]

All was quiet on the ocean, until a loud whining sound was heard shooting through the sky.

It was a streamlined flying machine that cut through the air at high speeds. Antiquated as it was, the machine was clearly very advanced.

Naruto had been flying over the ocean for a few days now, and as much as he enjoyed flying this 'Jumpship' as it was called, there was nothing really fun for him to see except for the odd island or two. Ghost had already told him that his Jumpship was built as a proof-of-concept, when the ancients made flying machines like these that dominated the skies. When asked if it could go into the stars, Ghost was strangely silent about it, which meant that something bad happened before they could. But still, the very thought that humanity could have gone to worlds beyond this one; to see totally different peoples, and experience different cultures was unfathomable to him…and yet, he could not contain his excitement at the idea of making friends from other worlds and different peoples.

"Be careful, Naruto," said Ghost, after he'd insisted he used his name. "It is quite possible to fly a Jumpship with just your mind alone, but at the end of the day, you're still going to need your body to help it along."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he turned his focus back to flying. "Tell me about it. It's like this thing is alive."

"Not a surprise. Jumpships are sentient machines made to interface well with the Guardian it's linked to. It even flies to wherever you are on command." Upon seeing Naruto's befuddled expression, Ghost's 'eyeball' looked up thoughtfully. "It's sort of like a big, flying horse…only cleaner, smarter and much more loyal. I think the saying was 'Man and Horse in one body,' which is exactly the case here; the rider -which is you- has to have a very tight bond with the horse that is your Jumpship. In other words, take care of it, and it will take care of you."

Upon learning that his own flying machine was pretty much alive, Naruto looked at his Jumpship console with new eyes. He could only smile. Since he loved to fly so much, he would make sure that this thing would get the best care he could give it.

"We're almost there." said Ghost, its front points spinning around its eye. As Naruto kept his eyes out on the screen in front of him, he began to see it creeping up from the horizon. As he got closer and closer, he saw something pure white with a perfectly round shape. At the bottom of this gigantic snowball were what appeared to be deep, shadowed cracks that broke off from the white that gave it the appearance of a broken god. "The Traveler. An object that is the source of many mysteries; a machine-god who seeks to do good in this world. And my creator."

Naruto looked to Ghost. For a moment, he thought he saw something that looked like pride in its single eye. If what he said about 'The Traveler' was true, then perhaps this was how coming back to your parents after such a long time was like. "Where do we land?"

"There is a tower that has been erected by The Traveler for Guardians like yourself," explained Ghost, "The Traveler floats above it, concealing and protecting it and the islands surrounding it for the ten years since it's awakened."

* * *

[The Tower, hours later]

The Jumpship came to a slow stop above the tower, emitting a cone of light below its hull to allow Naruto and Ghost to land safely. What he saw upon landing were quite a few people of different classes walking about their business. There was no race or prejudice here; people were going about their business, until they noticed him standing there with a bit of awe in their features.

"Welcome. The Tower's been pretty empty on Guardians for a while now," Ghost explained. "In fact, this is the most activity we have so far. Anyway, we have to see someone…and if you'll just follow me, I'll take you to the Speaker."

As he was led around by the Ghost, Naruto was floored by how busy the top tiers were. It was quite amazing, really; and it was not even full yet. Many people seemed normal enough without a Ghost, and they were socializing with each other…their tan complexions and their different accents told him that they were natives from the nearby islands. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he'd caught a glimpse of some hooded figure with a Ghost by his shoulder, skillfully twirling a fancy-looking knife around in his finger effortlessly as he watched Naruto passing by. Perhaps this was one of those other Guardians that his own Ghost was talking about.

"A Hunter," Ghost replied to Naruto's silent question, "Judging by how much he favors that knife, and his ability to turn invisible, I'm guessing he specializes as a Bladedancer. And yes, he's a Guardian too."

"Hunter?"

"They are the Guardians responsible for going out in the world, see how things are in the wilderness. In battle, they tend to be the trickiest of the Guardian types with armor that enables them to survive better in the wilderness."

Naruto grunted. "Sounds like my kind of people."

"That one carried himself like a Vanguard, which means he is the best Hunter overall. So I'd watch what I say around him…unless he's not into formality, then you can be as casual around him as you like."

As Ghost led him towards their destination, Naruto learned more about the other Guardian types that traversed the tower. The ones who walked around in those awesome-looking, long-tailed jackets were Warlocks; the scholar-warriors of the Light. While they frequented the tower's many libraries, Ghost had told him that sometimes Warlocks had the dangerous job of being spies. To do their job well, they were able to use their minds to cause untold amounts of damage with or without their understanding of something called 'the Light'. Sounded like a certain Nara would fit in well in their number.

There were people in heavy armor patrolling the area with fearsome-looking weapons in both hands. There was a strong sense of discipline in their step, at which Naruto had no small amount of respect for. Ghost had introduced these armor-clad warriors as Titans; it was by their strength that the Tower was defended, and their discipline would be the rock that others could depend upon. Rock Lee would definitely be welcome among them.

The two of them walked down the pathway to find that they'd arrived. It was a compound that reminded him a lot of a temple. Wandering around inside had revealed an open space with walls lined with shelves that were laden with many books. Before, this wasn't exactly the kind of place he'd like to be, given how hard studying was for him. And yet, he was interested in whatever knowledge was hidden away in the shelves. He also had a look outside the window, and marveled at the view of the Traveler floating in place above the largest island among the gathering of smaller ones.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" asked a feminine voice from above. Naruto turned around quickly to see a figure dressed in hooded, white robes descending a flight of stairs with a ghost hovering near the left shoulder. The robes and full-face mask obscured all traces of the person's identity, but there was clearly a very shapely woman underneath those layers that regarded him for a moment before she looked back at the Traveler with him. "Ten years awake, and it is still regaining its strength after millennia of being forced to sleep. But until it has completely recovered, I speak for the Traveler."

The Speaker then turned to Naruto. "You must have no end of questions, Guardian. Three years after it had awakened, the Traveler gradually began sending out fragments of its power to seek out those who are capable of wielding its Light. Ghosts, seeking those worthy of becoming Guardians."

"What happened to it?" Naruto asked.

There was a dejected slump in the Speaker's shoulders. This was definitely a touchy subject. "The Fall happened. Eventually, as it was starting to bring about a Golden Age to the ancients, the Traveler was found by its old enemy: the Darkness. I can't tell you about what happened during the past thousands of years in the Dark Age, because I'm still trying to learn about it myself; but I _can_ tell you that the Traveler exhausted all of its energy trying to fight back, which resulted in it being forced to sleep away the years."

"It's weak and recovering, and the Darkness knows it," Ghost added, looking at Naruto with a sense of urgency, "Right now, it is a cat playing with its prey, but it will show the Traveler no mercy if it decides come at us seriously."

Naruto felt how serious the situation was. As he looked back at the Traveler, he could not help but feel a sense of concern for the waking giant. "What can I do to help?"

"The Shinobi Nations is a place where the Darkness has a strong foothold. We need someone to help find people worthy of becoming Guardians, and take the fight back to the Darkness." The Speaker then turned her attention to the Ghost.

This was a request that was not to be taken lightly. It was one of those promises that once made, he had to see through to the end. It was a promise that he had only one answer for: "You can count on me!"

He could not see underneath the Speaker's mask, but thought he could feel a smile on that face. "You are not the first Guardian that a Ghost has brought back from the Shinobi Nations, and you won't be the last. I can only hope that yours chose wisely. Bring the Light back to the world."

Naruto turned to leave. Ghost moved into his peripheral vision. "I did, I'm sure of it. Well, wherever you go, I'll go."

The Speaker watched as Naruto left her compound. When she was certain he was out of earshot, she let out a sigh. "You know you don't have to hide around me, do you?" she asked to someone in the room with her. She didn't bother turning around as silent footfalls broke the silence of the area as a transparent form began to fade into existence. The hood revealed it to be a Hunter with a mask with a set of binoculars built into the visor. There was a swagger to his step that spoke of power gained from experience, marking him as a Vanguard. "I was wise to you when we were Shinobi, and I'm wise to you now."

"Didn't stop you from loving me." the Hunter snipped back, leisurely twirling his massive knife around by the finger loops.

The Speaker rolled her eyes under her mask before she took on a more serious tone. "You still think he's ready for this task we've handed him?"

"I'm plenty sure of it. He could very well be the one to help the Traveler fight back." The Hunter stopped twirling his knife around. "You think he's not ready?"

"Is it wrong for me to worry?"

"Not at all. It's only natural; I'm worried for his welfare too."

In a few seconds, the Speaker turned to face the Hunter. "Watch over him. For all of our sakes."

The Hunter's mask glowed a white light before it disintegrated into nothingness. It revealed a face that resembled Naruto's, only older, wiser and without the boy's noticeable whisker-marks. "Consider it done."

* * *

[Hi no Kuni High-Security Correctional Facility, 2 years later]

Prisoners were whooping from their cells as Tsunade walked down the halls of the correctional facility. As a good many of the convicts locked up there were men and women who had been sentenced here for life, that was a given. There were a lot of words thrown her way that made her want to rip their throats out.

"Well, well…if it ain't the Hokage; didn't know she was such a hottie."

"Hey, there, let me out and I'll treat you right!"

"C'mon! Don't you want some?"

She wasn't worried, nor did she dignify any of the sex-starved monsters with an answer. Even if the chakra-draining seals put in this place by the Uzumaki Clan were to fail, she was more than equipped to handle a prison break. In fact, she was counting on that prison break to happen so that she could benefit from the anger management therapy at being forced to see the person she never wanted to lay eyes on ever again.

It'd been a good two years since Naruto's reported death, and things were a bit of a downer since. Tsunade would know, because she'd nearly sunken to the lowest low she never thought she'd ever hit. It was only thanks to her diligent training of Haruno Sakura in that time that she was unable to hit a bar or a casino. It appeared that the girl was serious in her diligence to making it up to Naruto from beyond the grave, and her sincerity showed as she worked hard to be her successor as the best iryō-nin in the village.

All in all, it was one victory under her belt, and Kakashi did his best in assisting in her training. In a way, Sakura's improvement was a team effort by the people who felt they'd wronged Naruto in one way or another. For Sakura, it was being weak and sending Naruto to his death. Kakashi saw that it was his fault for playing favorites, and failing to teach his students properly. But Tsunade felt that Naruto's death was because of the accursed necklace she'd given to him. However, they all knew who had the dubious honor of directly being Naruto's killer.

When Kakashi brought back the Last Uchiha from Otogakure, Tsunade had wanted to beat the brat into paste for the murder of Uzumaki Naruto. She wanted to tell the ass-kissing members of the Civilian Council where they could shove their businesses. But no; those businesses just had to be important to the village economy. Therefore, she was forced to content herself with sentencing the spoiled little monster to life in this high-security prison with regular visits from Yamanaka Inoichi…an act that gave her no end of satisfaction when those assholes tried to rebel, and she told them that it was either their precious Uchiha was sent to prison, or she would execute the brat as a traitor.

Surprisingly though, her so-called "Uchiha Dirtbag" was well-behaved after Kakahi's raid of one of Orochimaru's bases in Kusagakure led to the monster's incarceration. In fact the brat didn't even seem to respond when she handed "you-know-who" her sentence; those onyx eyes looked dead, as did the rest of the body. Whether or not this was Orochimaru's doing had yet to be determined, especially since the Last Uchiha was also a good deal quieter than usual.

The unforeseen consequences of sending the Uchiha into this place were clear to her as she walked down the halls to the solitary confinement wing. According to Inoichi's reports, the person she was about to see felt an extreme guilt over the murder of Naruto. This manifested in -dare she say it- visiting the prison chaplain very religiously, and behaving so well that parole was a possibility. That all changed pretty much upon being crowned the ruler of the prison through the murder of a lot of prisoners that badmouthed Naruto in one night…which led to the Uchiha being tossed into the highest-security solitary confinement cell within months of being thrown into jail. Now the chaplain had to come this way with an armed guard detail daily just to extract a confession from his charge.

Whether the chakra-draining chains would serve their purpose in keeping this convict in line, Tsunade had no plans of finding out. She was going to get this over with…in and out. With four of the best seal-masters in the village to help her with her endeavor, there was yet another layer of safety in what she was about to do.

After nearly twenty minutes or so of walking, she found herself right outside the solitary confinement room she was looking for. It was a massive metal door with four seal tags pasted in the corners known only as the Yami Kinko—bar none, the most secure place in the prison. A mental command at her body calmed down any reflex she had to rush inside to snap the little bitch's neck. "You really don't have to be here," said a voice to her right. It was a very serious Jiraiya, trying to reassure her as best he could. Tsunade could tell that he too wanted to destroy this inmate they were seeing now. "One way or another, my spy network will get the job done."

"Your spy network has already been made into a laughingstock." Tsunade snipped back, keeping her focus on the task and the files at hand. "What we need is someone skilled to track down the party that humiliated you, and bring them back for questioning. With any luck, our Uchiha-friend will be very cooperative."

"If only we were that lucky." Jiraiya turned to the seal-masters that had accompanied him. A single nod had them flanking both sides of the cell. He then raised a hand to signal them to standby as he leveled a cautionary glance towards Tsunade. "Are you sure about this? After betraying the village and murdering Naruto, are you absolutely certain that it's a good idea to let this inmate out?"

"No. In fact, I have a feeling it's the worst idea I've ever had." admitted Tsunade, steeling her resolve as the seal masters stood in position near the high-powered reinforcement seals placed on the locks of the cell door. "But I doubt we have much of an option. We'll need the best and brightest of the new generation to catch this enigma…and if that means recruiting traitors, then so be it."

There was a tone of surrender in Jiraiya's sigh; no turning back now. He reluctantly turned to the four seal-masters, and gave each side a nod. The four tags over the mechanized locks were pulled off, causing the seal-activated machinery inside the door to come to life with a series of whirs and clicks. Heavy metal locks gave way to allow the six of them entrance into the vault.

Jiraiya and his seal-masters escorted Tsunade to a table that was settled in the middle of an empty, seal-covered room. Soon, they were not alone as another metal door had opened, and out walked a pair of guards with their charge cuffed between them. Much of the prisoner's identity had been obscured by a burlap sack thrown over the head, but she could make out pale skin and lean muscles under the tattered prison jumpsuit. She also saw a small wreath of prayer beads wrapped around a delicate wrist. The convict's motions were indicative of a very powerful, but short-lived sedative being used to slow body movements down while making the subject susceptible to suggestion…no doubt as a precautionary measure to ensure ease of transport.

The prisoner was thrown into the chair as Tsunade took a seat. Once the feet were secured to the floor, and cuffs were wrapped around a bar in the face of the table, the guards were about to pull off the burlap sack to reveal…

"Don't bother." snapped Tsunade, stopping them in their tracks. "That waste of life does not need to see me. And if you pull the sack off, I might kill the fucker on sight."

The guards took their positions with the seal-masters; their quarterstaffs at the ready should the convict try to break free. Tsunade watched as the convict's delicate hands pulled the chains taut, the feet moving to do the same. It was clear to her that the sedative had worn off. "And you, my dear Uchiha—don't you dare say a word," she said, catching the convict's attention. "If you so much as utter a syllable without permission, I will paste you all over this visitor center and tell the Civilian Council you tried to organize a country-wide prison break. Now nod if you understand."

True to form, the convict silently nodded as tattooed hands clasped together confidently. There were blank circles tattooed on the back strong but delicate hands, a pair of dragons twirling and coiling up slender, androgynous arms. This was part of the seal array tagged onto convicts thrown into maximum security cells. There was no doubt in Tsunade's mind that the person who was responsible for inking the odious Uchiha before her was a true artist…a shame that such beautiful work would be destroyed by her command if the brat did not behave.

Tsunade sighed as she settled the files on the table. "I'll be honest with you, Uchiha: I never really liked your clan much. In fact, a part of me is dancing with joy that that power-hungry, self-entitled mob you call a family is dead. I already dislike you as it is because you seem to have taken after your asshole dad, instead of your mother. That hatred of you has gone up a few notches because you took someone from me. But it seems to me that we have need of your skills, so I'm willing to overlook my hatred of you for now."

The Uchiha said nothing, but the body language told Tsunade to continue. "For the past years or so, Jiraiya's spy network and your own former colleagues in the Konoha Twelve have been reporting sporadic encounters with a vigilante going about the Shinobi Nations. Now you're probably thinking 'why are we worrying so much about a vigilante that's on the prowl?' Well how about a vigilante with advanced weapons and strange powers? That has been rumored to be responsible for a lot of heroic deeds that even I want to give him or her a pat on the back for?"

She could feel the convict's curiosity under the sack. "We want you to assist in tracking down this vigilante, and bring them back alive for questioning. You do this for us, and I may consider transferring you to a lower-security section at least. And I will have those seals taken off. Do we have a deal?"

The convict seemed to be considering the deal if the twiddling of fingers were any indication. Whatever it was that went into that clearly deranged head, Tsunade had no idea. However, one word was uttered in a feminine voice that gave the Gōdaime Hokage no small amount of regret in coming here: "Deal."

There was no small amount of disgust for the Uchiha in her tone. "Then today, you go free. But, as you will soon realize, even freedom has a price."

The seal-masters wasted no time in getting to work. The prison jumpsuit was torn at the back to reveal a blank circle at the gap between scapulae. Four of the seal-masters took position at each blank seal at the Uchiha's hands and shoulders, while Jiraiya stood at the seal on the back. The kanji "陽" was brushed into each circle, before being covered by a hand. After that, chakra had been pumped into each character, causing the prisoner no small amount of pain. When their hands were removed, the kanji vanished; in their place, the kanji for "火", "土", "金", "水", and "木" respectively surrounded the circle.

"Hokage-sama, the seals are primed."

"You'll carry your cell on your body now." Tsunade said, feeling a subtle pleasure from giving the Uchiha her new sentence, "Those seals are primed to explode either on my command, or upon my death. But aside from that, enjoy your freedom while it lasts."

"What would you have me do?"

"The vigilante was last seen in Yukigakure no Sato by Team 10 no more than a few weeks ago." began Tsunade, "After helping the Ino-Shika-Cho trio to topple the regime of Kazahana Doto there, he or she left before they could apprehend them. Because of that incident, Kazahana Koyuki has been put on the throne and she had named this stranger as the 'Knight of the Snow' for their actions in saving her country. If I were you, I'd start my search there."

* * *

[Konohagakure Graveyard]

Hanabi walked towards the graveyard with a bundle of flowers in her arms. There were quite a few changes in the village since the death of Uzumaki Naruto. After it was reported, Tsunade went out to publicly announce the news. At first, a lot of people cheered upon hearing the news until she revealed that Naruto was the son of the Yondaime Hokage. Needless to say that it was disgusting how those that mistreated him in life suddenly started repenting after learning of his lineage; at least the one who still hated him were being honest about it. Not that she was one of those people who hated Naruto at all…in fact, she found him kinda cute.

But the fact of the matter was that his death had hit a lot of people very hard, chief among them being Iruka-sensei. After hearing that "she-that-shall-not-be-named" had killed Naruto, he went on a downward spiral for a while. For a few months since that murderer of Naruto was brought back, he was sloppier and more angry. Since then, he was more determined to not let this happen again…and so he worked hard to become the headmaster of the academy, taking care that corruption in the school system was done away with. Thanks to that, all of the graduating classes had a much better survival rate than before, some of whom were found to be ready for the Chūnin Exams to come.

Konohamaru-kun cried for several days, but decided later on to work harder than ever before. It made Hanabi so giddy around him when trained and studied harder than other students. When she asked him about it, he said that "Boss wouldn't have wanted me to mope about. He would've wanted me to get back up on my feet. That's why I'm going to work hard to become Hokage in his honor." As she thought on it, perhaps this was how Hinata-nee felt when she was around Naruto.

Ah yes, Hinata. Probably one of the people that was broken down the most. When she heard the news of Naruto's death, Hanabi had to watch as her sister had taken on increasingly suicidal missions as time went by. Her clan had praised her, and her father had tried to make amends; if only to save what he had left of their mother. His intention to make amends came too late—Hinata went out on a mission that went south almost a year and a half ago…for what it was worth, the mission was complete, but Hinata paid for it with her life. From that point on, Hiashi had shut down, and Hanabi had been coming to her grave regularly every week to maintain her grave. According to her teammate Inuzuka Kiba, her last words were: "I've done it Naruto-kun…I've made you proud…"

As she walked through the graveyard, Hanabi caught sight of someone sneaking through the graves carefully. There was something hovering over the figure's shoulder, periodically shining a cone of bluish white light over the gravestones while the figure in the darkness had kept silent vigil over the floating thing. She stayed hidden, watching in silence as the figure and its tiny companion made its rounds among the graveyard until they seemed to find their destination.

The floating thing hovered above the very place that she was coming to visit: Hinata's grave. It emitted a cone of light over the patch of ground covering her coffin which began to intensify by the second. A shape began to form...first a skeleton, then organs and muscles in a decidedly feminine form and finally skin. The shape that this mass of flesh had shocked Hanabi to no end, because she was seeing the very naked and floating form of her older sister, all the way down to her well-developing bust. She looked like she hadn't changed at all since that day she left the village on that mission that went wrong.

She watched as clothes and armor began to materialize Hinata's floating body before it crumpled to the ground, her chest rising and sinking with her breath. There was no doubt about it: whatever it was that showed up in the graveyard had brought her sister back from the dead.

The figure that was in the shadows had bent over, reaching forward to pick up Hinata in a bridal carry. It looked like it was time to go. Before she could even scream, Hanabi felt an impact in the back of her head that sent her into darkness…

* * *

 _ **A/N: And we're done with the new chapter. Hopefully it's to your liking. Anyway, I'm going to try something that NeonZangetsu does…and that is to give a preview for what I have on mind. As to Naruto's Guardian Class, I will keep your opinions on mind, so if you want him to be a Warlock, Hunter or Titan, vote now before I decide to get the next chapter out soon and make the decision for you.**_

* * *

 _ **Preview:**_

" _You've lost much, and have chosen to pay a great price for your revenge. But, as you have just learned, there are prices too high to pay."_

" _You must be compensated; after all, it is your due. You must convert as many to your cause as you can, so that you can no longer be alone."_

" _There is a knife for you. It is shaped like [you shall be mine]."_

" _Take up the knife, drive it into your heart. Take your new shape."_

* * *

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **Man and Horse in one body—a pretty well-known saying (**_ _ **人馬一体**_ _ **) in Yabusame (horseback archery), relating to how the rider and the horse must be one in mind and body.**_

* * *

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Priming the Uchiha's detonation seals—the introductory cinematic of "Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty"**_


	3. Guardians

_**A/N: Poll is closed...and I have made a decision. To those of you who are disappointed in the result, don't worry; Naruto won't be his current class forever. Because I intend to make a custom class for him to become somewhere down the road. In any case, do read and review would you kindly?**_

* * *

[Konohagakure Graveyard]

As he looked on at the now slumbering body of Hyūga Hinata in his arms, he could only think to himself: Wow, Hinata-chan's gotten a lot prettier since we last met. The Ghosts he was assigned to escort had chosen Konoha of all places to find their Guardians. He'd been to a lot of places, seeing people he'd been sure were worthy candidates for being imbued with the Light. It's just that Naruto never thought he'd find people that were certainly worthy of the Traveler's power here. Another thing he didn't see coming was the fact that Hinata-chan was brought back as a Defender Titan.

It'd been two years since Naruto had been sent back to the Shinobi Nations, and he'd been quite busy. Aside from his mind-numbingly complicated study sessions into his Warlock skills, he had various chores to do around his mobile home in the sky. One of which was making sure his weapons were well-maintained and had plenty of ammo. He was pretty sure that Tenten would have loved to see the weapons he'd been ordering and mastering over the past two years. They were mechanical implements of death he heard were called 'guns,' and they had so much power and accuracy that they put shuriken and kunai to shame. One in particular that he favored was a massive "hand-cannon" with a wooden grip and intricate gold inlays and furniture that added contrast to its blackish steel frame that was holstered over his leather greatcoat. It lived up to its name in that it fired small projectiles with such force that it was indeed like a small cannon you could hold in your hands.

His current job right now, apart from vigilante work was the tri-monthly escort of two Ghosts to find people in the Shinobi Nations, dead or alive, that were suitable candidates for becoming Guardians. Every three months, the Tower in Hikarigakure no Sato sent over two or three Ghosts over to him to find more Guardians to awaken. Coincidentally, he had just arrived in the skies of Hi no Kuni when the three Ghosts caught up with his Jumpship…which was where they were going to try their luck.

Fortunately, the graveyard was chock-full of potential Guardian candidates; a few names of which he recognized. The Ghosts were very diligent in their work, with one of them wanting to find a challenge in a living candidate rather than looking for a dead one. The one he was escorting found it much easier to find a corpse. Apparently, the process to make anybody into a Guardian had varied results based solely on the chakra coils of the subject undergoing the change. It was practically wasted on civilians with their weaker and shorter chakra coils, but it was a good choice for the sake of expediency and malleability. That wasn't to say that civilian-born Guardians couldn't become Vanguards at all; it's just that it would be a long road…something that Rock Lee would've appreciated.

Shinobi on the other hand, were a better pick for turning into Guardians. With better and more extensive chakra coils, you'd be taking longer to convert whatever chakra remains into Light. But it was still worth it, considering that Shinobi-born Guardians could take better advantage of their newfound powers; primarily because they're used to using energy-based attacks over a relatively long career. Ghosts tended to work with Genin-level shinobi due to the ease of which they can learn to adapt to their new powers, but Jōnin and Kage-level shinobi were already strong right off the bat and were easier to make into Guardians.

On the other hand, Jinchūriki such as himself were an especially valued target for any Ghost. With such extensive chakra coils to work with, and once the Tenant had been extracted from the host, the possibilities would be mind-boggling. And because the Jinchūriki Guardian now ran on the power of the Light rather than their Tenant, the extraction of one from its host was now no longer as dangerous as it was in the past. The problem was that the Bijū itself was now without a host, which meant that it could wreak havoc unless properly contained; this was why all Ghosts were given sealing vessels powerful enough to contain the power of one. But it still left the question as to what to do with that vessel…

A loud thud, followed by a body hitting the grass had brought Naruto and Hinata's Ghost's attention to a particular gravestone. Standing above the body of a little girl was an effeminate form in the trappings of a Hunter and the other Guardian-less Ghost. There were glowing red lights that showed from within a body made of black and gold-plated metal. The head had a pair of protrusions streaming towards the back like a pair of ears, as well as a horn. "You do realize that you owe me for much more than that, right?" asked the metal-creature, through a pair of imitated lips with a very-much feminine voice.

Naruto sighed in exasperation, while Hinata's Ghost nodded in disapproval. "You didn't kill her did you?"

"Of course not; we're here to find Guardians, not to start an international incident!"

Because a Bijū was still very much a sentient being, there were a lot of potential uses for its container. This included using them to make things called 'AI' to power and control machines called "Warminds" and even Jumpships. Naruto had a solution after seeing metal people walking amongst the human ones. They behaved very much like regular humans…some of them were even racist to him; not for being a Jinchūriki, but for being human. He'd heard that they had a name: Exo, he thought they were called. According to Ghost, the ancients built them for some long-forgotten conflict before they fell.

A year into working as a 'vigilante', Naruto had an idea. It just so happened at the time that there was a freshly-made female Exo frame without an AI, and a Ghost without a Guardian. The vessel containing the Kyūbi no Yoko was pretty much placed inside the frame, and the Ghost in question set up the connections to allow the fox to have a body. Once everything was ready to go, it worked its magic; what happened next was that the fox's chakra flowed through the female Exo frame, and it awoke. At first, it looked like she was going to kill him; until she saw that she was free of his body and flirted with him.

From that point on, Kurama was given her own Jumpship, as well as baseline equipment from the Vanguard armory. Whenever she and Naruto teamed up, the former found that she very much preferred being a Nightstalker, a tricky master archer that set her foes up for her allies to finish off. Meanwhile, Naruto specialized in dispatching multiple foes at once with high-voltage Arc energy as a Stormcaller, or blasts of Void energy as a Voidwalker. The two of them complemented each other, with Kurama pinning down and slowing masses of bandits with her Void arrows, and Naruto hurling thousand-watt lightning bolts or massive Nova Bombs at those trapped by her arrows.

Naruto sighed as he walked towards the person that Kurama had knocked unconscious. The Exo gently pushed her over, and allowed Naruto to study her features. "She looks a bit like Hinata."

"I'm guessing that's her sister." said the Ghost that hovered over Kurama's shoulder.

Kurama rolled her eyes at the Ghost, her voice soon taking on a more serious tone. "You think she's a satisfying candidate for you?"

The Ghost nodded. "Challenging, lots of potential and possibly a very malleable mind; what's not there to like?"

"You want us to leave you here?" asked Naruto. "We can take you to Nami no Kuni if you'd like."

After being seen in Nami no Kuni on his first Guardian-making run, Naruto went to the village to reveal himself before Tazuna. In the year since his homeland was freed from Gato's tyranny, the bridge-builder was made a de-facto governor of the island until a more official one could be appointed. A word or two from Naruto had convinced Tazuna to allow his island to be used as a secret base of operations for all Guardians awakened here in the Shinobi Nations. In exchange, he was able to ask the Speaker to send in some people and Vanguards to make life better there so that another Gato would not happen; a man who would turn out to be a pretty strong Striker Titan in spite of his civilian background…just the kind of guy Lee would admire.

"Nah, I think I'll be fine," dismissed the Ghost, "Besides, I doubt she's fully ready to be a Guardian yet; though I can always lead her there when she's ready. That and you two have a mission to go to."

"Take care." said Naruto. He and Kurama walked towards the forest; they needed to move a fair distance away before they could call in their Jumpships quietly. No need to awaken the village. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched by ink mice that ran off into the shadows…

* * *

[In the skies]

{Play: "Somebody to Love" by Queen}

Her ears were filled with the sound of guitar strings and piano keys gently waking her up with the gentle riff being played. She stirred awake to find herself in unfamiliar surroundings. What happened? Where was she?

The area she was in was metallic, and through the music there was a mechanical humming that droned through the halls. It was here that she began to realize that something was amiss. Last she'd remembered, Hinata's mission had gone way south. Team 8 was hired to go escort the young girl through a bandit-infested valley. What the middleman didn't say was that the location of a secret treasure trove was whispered into the girl's ear, and the leader of the bandits had tortured many people for the information.

It all culminated in a chase up a hill. The caravan was having trouble getting up the slope, and the bandits were coming in hot. Inuzuka Kiba was injured from a scouting mission gone horribly wrong and would have died had he decided to join in the fight; Aburame Shiina needed to recover after she used her clan's Kikaichu to get them out of an ambush; and Kurenai-sensei was knocked out from a battle with a nuke-nin in their ranks. In the end, she was forced to fight; she didn't want to, but it was a matter of survival. As Hinata thought hard on it, she shouldn't have survived the mission even if her track record of surviving suicide missions had been at an all-time high; the number of bandits she had to fight were simply too many to count.

No time to think about that now, she thought, I need to assess the situation. Allowing her shinobi training and experience to kick in, Hinata began to observe her surroundings. She was on a cot in some kind of transport, going who knows where. As she turned to have a better look, she felt that she was heavier than before. A cursory glance at her own body revealed that she was no longer dressed in her hoodie. Instead, she was in what looked like a skintight suit of synthetic material with large pieces of armor locked onto areas that protected her vitals without hindering her movement. She was like some kind of samurai in highly advanced armor that could take any sort of punishment sent her way.

"Ah! You're finally awake, Guardian!" said a voice to her side. Hinata squeaked and hopped a bit from being startled. She hazarded a glance to her left, and saw a floating sphere looking back at her. Surrounding the sphere were eight points that would have turned it into a cube.

"W- what are you?" she asked, having a closer look at the object before her.

"I'm a Ghost," answered the little sphere before her. "Well, I'm your Ghost. And we're on a Jumpship owned by a Guardian like yourself."

"Guardian?"

"It'll be hard to explain right now, because right now he's on his way to a new mission." answered the Ghost, "But I suppose there is still time to tell you that you really did die, and I brought you back to life."

It disturbed Hinata to no end, knowing that she really did die. "My team…did they…?"

"I really wouldn't know." Ghost answered. "I'm only the one that resurrected you, Guardian."

"Why do you keep calling me that?" she asked, "What is a 'Guardian' anyway?"

"It'll take too long to explain," called a voice from several rooms in front of her, "Right now, the best way to put it is that you have been brought back to life for a very important job."

Curious as to who it was that spoke, Hinata tried sending chakra to her eyes. While she was glad that her Byakugan still worked, she was curious as to what it was that was in her body now. Instead of the regular feeling of electricity that came from chakra usage, it was as though something more pure and concentrated flowed through her tenketsu points; like a cleansing fire was coursing through her body.

Her vision had revealed that a little further ahead was a figure in a leather greatcoat and a helmet sitting at a chair and manning what she guessed to be the controls of the 'Jumpship' that she was in. It also revealed that the driver's tenketsu points and extensive chakra coils were filled with a bright white light. Something about this light made her feel good inside; like there was hope. A glance through the walls caused Hinata to squeak as it revealed that they were traveling very high in the air…which meant that the Jumpship was some kind of flying machine.

"Where are we going?" asked Hinata, creeping closer to the front of the flying machine.

"Mizu no Kuni," answered the driver, just as soon as she stepped into the cockpit, "I swear to you, as soon as I'm done there, I'll answer any questions you have. But right now I have a mission to get to."

As soon as she stood right next to the driver, Hinata activated her Byakugan out of curiosity. What she saw under the helmet had her gasping, especially as the driver finally noticed her from the corner of his eye. Her armored finger went up, trembling as she pointed at him "N-Na-Naru-Naruto-k-ku-k-k-ku…"

"Hey there Hinata-chan." The driver said, getting his attention back to flying the Jumpship. The information was too much for the now tomato-colored Hyūga heiress to process. So confused was she at what she was seeing that her knees went limp, and she fell unconscious.

Heaving an exasperated sigh, Naruto turned his attention back to flying. "Autopilot!" he called, letting go of the controls to the Jumpship to allow the ship to fly itself. It knew where it had to go.

Once he was assured that the Jumpship could handle itself, Naruto sat up and hefted Hinata in a bridal carry as his own Ghost appeared by his shoulder. It would've been easier if she weren't that heavy. "Damn it. I forgot about her clan's kekkei genkai."

"I never even thought she'd be able to keep it, much less use it," said his Ghost, as the two of them went towards the bunks. "I guess you learn something new every day. If we report it to the Speaker, it may add more criteria for other Ghosts to choose their Guardians."

"I know. I just hope they choose good people to be Guardians."

* * *

[Somewhere in Mizu no Kuni, an hour later]

A feminine hooded figure sat by a fire, waiting for her contacts to show up as her Ghost played calming music that the Traveler had brought with it from a world called "Terra". As ancient musicians played in an orchestra directed by someone named Tchaikovsky, she sat atop a cliff overlooking a particular building she wanted so much to topple for years; primarily because of one single occupant's actions. But to do this alone was suicide; even with the power of the Light now coursing through her body. For now, she had to wait until…

The distant sound of Jumpships flying towards her had told the female Hunter that her contacts were near. It was about time. The two Jumpships hovered over her, materializing two people before they left. Fortunately, they were so far away that their approach would still be unnoticeable.

One of the Guardians wore a tattered and stitched-up leather hood over a feminine body. She wore a skull mask with a pair of binoculars fitted over the eye sockets, and a breathing respirator. A skintight synthetic body-glove was worn under small pieces of ceramic armor that did not hinder finer motor skills needed for stealth, which was perfect for a shinobi. In her hands, she carried what looked like a pulse rifle, and at her back was a sniper rifle. Holstered at her side was a knife only Hunters like herself carried, an item that was equal parts tool and weapon.

The other was a boy around her age in a rich leather greatcoat and a helmet with two holes in the front that designated him as a Warlock. Around his arm, he wore a Konoha hitai-ate he consistently wore as his bond, and made him obvious to her; aside from that he wore little in the way of armor, which she knew from conversations disappointed him to no end as he wanted to be a Titan instead. In his hands, he carried a hand cannon she knew as The Last Word, and slung across his back was a four-barreled shotgun called "The 4th Horseman"; both of which were beautifully-crafted weapons reproduced from schematics brought by the Traveler.

The Huntress stood up to greet them both. "You came just in time. I was beginning to wonder if anyone heard my call."

"Well, since it's you Haku, I doubt I could say no. How goes your walkabout?"

"It took me a while, but I managed to find myself. Who would've thought that it'd take me back here?"

On his first Guardian-making run, Naruto decided to head to Nami no Kuni with two Ghosts. A Ghost there found that Haku was a worthy candidate to make into a Hunter, and had just succeeded in doing that when Naruto was seen. It would lead to a momentous occasion where the island nation would be used as a base of operations for Guardians…and Naruto being an ambassador to Hikarigakure no Sato. As a sign of goodwill, Naruto sent the other Ghost out to bring back someone to be made into a Guardian for the village.

"So how are we going to do this?" Naruto asked.

"The Rebels are about to attack soon…but Yagura is very likely to be expecting them." Haku answered, getting her fellow Guardians to look over the ridge. Below them was the capital of Mizu no Kuni's shinobi forces: Kirigakure no Sato. It was, like Hikarigakure no Sato, a cluster of smaller islands that surrounded a much larger one…but where Kirigakure was a literal village, Hikarigakure was a city that was a village only in name. The building that stood out the most in this location was the Mizukage tower; a large building with the character "水" emblazoned near the roof. "I highly doubt they'll be expecting us to crash their gate though. I hope to end this civil war quickly, so I want to attack the Mizukage tower immediately before the Rebels attack."

"This actually looks like a good vantage point for my rifle." Kurama said, looking at a building through the massive scope of her sniper rifle. "In fact, I could take out all the guards if I had to."

"Looks like there's no use being subtle," observed Naruto, "We're going to have to brute-force our way in if we're going to assassinate the Mizukage. And if we want to make him into a Guardian, we'll need to kill him fast."

Haku looked to Naruto with a shocked glare. "Are you crazy? After what he's been doing all these years to those of us with Kekkei Genkai, you want to make him into a Guardian?"

"Whether or not he deserves a second chance depends on what we find in his office." Naruto answered, looking through his binoculars. "Either way, we kill him, send our Ghosts to scan every part of his office for information then his body comes with us so that we can decide what we're going to do with him later."

* * *

[Outside the gates of Kirigakure no Sato]

All was quiet at the rebel front. Terumī Mei had been planning this attack for a while now…it'd take a while, but at least the Bloodline Purge would finally be over. This was bar none their last push, and it would cost the Kirigakure Rebels a lot of blood to win this civil war. A word from her would be all it would take and…

Her thoughts were interrupted as soon as she heard a distant buzzing sound from behind. Mei turned around and watched as three shapes sped towards the Kirigakure Rebel front.

"Stagger your formations!" she called.

In a second, the shinobi under her command had staggered their formations just in time for the three shapes to jet past them at high speeds. Mei's trained eyes had told her that these shapes were of one man and two women riding streamlined, hovering vehicles at high speeds. The noise had unsurprisingly caused the Loyalist dogs to shut the gates quickly. Fairly soon, they rained kunai, javelins, as well as jutsu upon their heads. The riders of these metal steeds deftly maneuvered their massive hunks of metal around the more dangerous projectiles.

The way they moved like their bodies were one with their machines had turned on Mei to no end. "Whoever it is, they're committing suicide." said Aoi, causing a change in Mei's mood. "They may be moving fast, but that's not going to count for much unless they have a way get past the gates! I mean seriously, how the hell are those three going to get past…"

"Aoi," said Mei, her voice taking on a very dangerous tone and a very dangerous grin. Aoi was terrified as hell whenever she took on that tone. "Shut the hell up, before I kill you."

* * *

[En route to the gates of Kirigakure no Sato]

The Sparrow was another Light-powered vehicle that Naruto liked to no end. It was ridden like a mechanical horse that hovered above the ground…that hovering technology made it possible to travel at speeds that matched or exceeded those of a shinobi tree-hopping. Granted, it did not have a sophisticated AI and had a limited capacity for long-distance travel; but that was what the Jumpship was for. He enjoyed the sound of the droning engines as they worked to their limit to transport him at high speeds to his destination. The feel of the wind against his body, and the fluttering of his coat behind him also filled him with a sense of excitement that he could only get on the ground and on the seat of a Sparrow.

As the three of them closed in on the gates, Naruto gave his orders. "Remember ladies, no civilians!" He then turned his attention to his Ghost as it hovered near his shoulder. "Ghost, I think we need some appropriate music for this!"

The Ghost disappeared from his shoulder, and began cranking out a drum riff…followed by the guitar and bass solo. The three of them could feel the beat as the shinobi at the gates got ready to cast jutsu at the three of them. "Kurama, get ahead of us and knock down those doors!"

On command, Kurama sped up her Sparrow to take the lead. Once she was a fair enough distance away, she kicked off from her bike and summoned a large weapon with many golden wolf motifs on its body. She took aim, fired, and watched as the projectile fired by her weapon exploded on the shut gates. That single blast had opened a wide gap for the three of them to enter as Naruto and Haku quickly dismounted their Sparrows with their weapons in hand.

 _Woah Black Betty, Bam-a-blam!_

 _Woah Black Betty, Bam-a-blam!_

 _Black Betty had a child! Bam-a-blam!_

 _The damn thing's gone wild! Bam-a-blam!_

 _She's said a word, not a mind! Bam-a-blam!_

 _The damn thing's gone blind! Bam-a-blam!_

 _I said, 'Oh Black Betty!' Bam-a-blam!_

 _Woah, Black Betty! Bam-a-blam!_

Kirigakure shinobi had begun to swarm from buildings as they attempted to stop these intruders from going any further as civilians ran for safety. Kurama began the fight by firing another projectile from her wolf-weapon, sending out multiple projectiles that sought out and destroyed multiple shinobi before switching out for her pulse rifle and targeting the heads of any shinobi that tried to kill her team. Naruto's practice of 'fanning' the hammer of his gun allowed him to take quick shots that killed or incapacitated his targets until he was able to hurl bolts of Arc energy at his enemies. Haku on the other hand had found the joys of 'blinking' around to knife her enemies to death while turning the sights of her auto-rifle onto her next target and tossing grenades at masses of enemies.

 _Oh, Black Betty! Bam-a-blam!_

 _Woah, Black Betty! Bam-a-blam!_

 _You know, she really gets me high! Bam-a-blam!_

 _You know that's no lie! Bam-a-blam!_

 _She's so rock-steady! Bam-a-blam!_

 _And she's always ready! Bam-a-blam!_

 _Oh, Black Betty! Bam-a-blam!_

 _Woah, Black Betty! Bam-a-blam!_

Their attack had continued, advancing towards the Mizukage tower slowly but surely with all of them supporting each other. Sometimes Kurama would summon a sidearm in her hand to take out columns of shinobi while Naruto brought out The 4th Horseman to blast any that got too close. Haku supported him with sprays of automatic rifle fire and deft knife-work. The three of them worked together, their movements coming together like a ranged dance of death that gunned down any that dared to attack. Shinobi and kunoichi about to attack with jutsu were shot down before a single hand-seal was formed, with a headshot from The Last Word followed by a storm of electric bolts from Haku's Plan C.

By the time they reached the Mizukage tower, every Kirigakure shinobi fled in terror from these "Bloodline Monsters" with "Demonic Weapons." This was most likely because the three Guardians had slaughtered more than a quarter (if not half) of their remaining forces on the way to this very location. That, and it was because whenever one of them fell, the other two would rush in and successfully resurrected whomever was killed. And it just so happened that they were among Kirigakure's finest, and Yagura's most loyal followers.

Naruto emptied the chamber of The Last Word and reloaded The 4th Horseman until all four chambers were loaded with shotgun shells. Haku loaded a fresh clip into the Fabian Strategy and her Plan C while Kurama did the same for her Red Death, her sidearm and rocket launcher Gjallarhorn.

"Ladies, we all good on Light?" asked Naruto, spinning the cylinder of his hand cannon before hefting "The 4th Horseman" in his hands. A nod from both Kurama and Haku was all he needed to know.

Haku and Kurama had their rifles at hand for the attack at hand. The Loyalists would be holed up nice and tight, and they would be fighting even harder than before. With the barrel of "The 4th Horseman" aimed at the door locks, Naruto began emptying all four barrels into it before holstering his massive shotgun and charged up his Arc Light and allowed the energy to lift him above the ground. With a single kick, the double-doors flew apart, and Naruto quickly sent thousands of watts of electricity into every shinobi in the room before they could even fight back. As they stood close to each other, the lightning bolts jumped from body to body, causing every enemy shinobi and kunoichi screaming as their bodies were pumped full of electrical currents.

By the time Naruto had run out of light for his ultimate art, another wave of shinobi and kunoichi began flooding down the stairs. The leader of the counter-attackers took a thrown knife to the face, while the rest were blasted to pieces when Kurama summoned her Golden Gun, having prepped it to use high-explosive rounds. Haku on the other hand, lost herself in a trance, and began cutting multiple foes down with her Arc Blade as she danced circles around them.

 _Woah, Black Betty! Bam-a-blam!_

 _Woah, Black Betty! Bam-a-blam!_

 _She's from Birmingham! Bam-a-blam!_

 _Way down in Alabama! Bam-a-blam!_

 _Well, she's shakin' that thing! Bam-a-blam!_

 _Boy she makes me sing! Bam-a-blam!_

 _Woah, Black Betty! Bam-a-blam!_

 _Woah, Black Betty! Bam-a-blam!_

The song was over by the time Naruto, Kurama, and Haku started taking leisurely steps towards the Mizukage's office, each of them packing a heavy weapon. Kurama had Gjallarhorn at the ready, while Haku's Thunderlord was pointed at the door. Naruto materialized and shouldered his massive blade before he delivered a single kick to the door that revealed a single form in Mizukage robes sitting at a desk, looking at them with dead, pink eyes. Naruto knew who he was just by the way he carried himself, as well as the Bijū chakra he felt coursing through his system. The two bodyguards flanking him was another dead giveaway, but he still had to ask. "And you're Yagura, I presume?"

* * *

[En route to the Mizukage's Office]

There were no words for the amount of bloodshed wrought upon the streets of Kirigakure as the Rebel forces slowly trod towards the Mizukage tower. Left and right, there were dead bodies; thankfully, there were no civilians in the mix, but it was still disturbing. The attack was fast, destructive and downright traumatizing, and it was all done by three people with weapons that fired projectiles much smaller than shuriken and kunai. Once in a while, they saw craters of people that were killed with what appeared to be high-explosive Katon jutsu.

"I think that was the vigilante I'd heard rumors about," said Chojuro, "Y'know, the one that was going around, killing bandit groups and nuke-nin left and right?"

"Don't be silly!" snapped Aoi, "Those are just rumors! No way could anybody kill so many people this quickly!"

"If you ask me, I don't think that guy was alone," Chojuro fought back, "At first, it was just him. Then we started get reports of finishing off missions before shinobi could. I'm thinking he's not so alone anymore."

Anything that Mei would have said to stop Aoi from saying a word was cut off when the sound of a door being kicked down had interrupted her train of thought. "Yagura, I presume?" came a voice from down the hallway. The three of them ran towards the office before Mei stopped Aoi and Chojuro just outside the Mizukage office. They were looking at the backs of the three vigilantes that had brazenly attacked Kirigakure no Sato, and had made short work of their shinobi.

Two of them wore hoods in differing levels of wear and tear, and body-hugging suits with a few plates of armor here and there. Their forms were clearly feminine underneath futuristic armor that would not have looked out-of-place on a long-range scout. The woman in the tattered leather hood wielded a large weapon with golden wolf motifs at the head of one guard; the one in the burlap hood aimed a weapon that seemed to fire kunai-sized spikes at the other guard as lightning seemed to be arcing around the weapon. Both weapons looked like it'd be very painful to be on the receiving end of either.

The only masculine form among them wore a metal helmet, as well as a leather greatcoat. While the attire gave the impression of a scholar or a scribe, this one carried himself like a front-line soldier. Still, one could see the knowledge in his stance…like he'd gotten wiser in a few years. What caught Mei's attention apart from the massive, flaming sword across his shoulders was that the male vigilante wore a hitai-ate around his arm that belonged only to shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato. Was this person a nuke-nin?

In front of them sat the deadpan expression of Yagura, the catalyst for this whole conflict. He was dressed in his Mizukage robes, and was flanked on both sides by shinobi bodyguards. "Ah, so you must be the vigilante I'd heard about, stealing missions from shinobi all over the world. Strange, there seems to be more of you than I thought."

"Our group's been getting bigger the past two years." The vigilante in the leather greatcoat defended. "Now I'm just a soldier in an army that's getting bigger."

"An army you say?" mocked Yagura, "All I see are three soldiers. What can you hope to achieve with such small numbers?"

"We're just a small part of a bigger army," answered the nuke-nin, "Since the first month of my new life here, I've been getting together people living and dead to fight back against the Darkness as Guardians of the Light. You've just seen what only three of us can do on a strike; imagine for a moment if six of us decide to get together for a raid…or if we got everyone together for a full-on assault."

The possibilities were not encouraging in the least to Mei. This Konoha vigilante had an army that he'd been gathering over the past two years? That he'd been recruiting even the dead to his cause? Then again, his only targets were shinobi and kunoichi; him and his two companions had spared the civilians so she could ease up the vigilantism charges on him and his army. Still, she'd have to question him about his goals later, after his coming battle with Yagura.

"I have no doubts that each of you is a one-man army, so to speak. But can all three of you handle me?" Yagura scoffed. There was a certain disturbing quality to moments when someone that had spent most of their lives with a deadpan decided to up and taunt you. It didn't show in Mei's stance, but she was barely able to hold back any fear she had to watch the coming fight. She then watched as Yagura sat up, his body was shrouded in the aura of his Bijū cloak, three tails swishing around behind him before killing his own bodyguards.

"You think you scare us?" asked the one in the greatcoat, hefting his blazing sword in both hands. The woman in the leather hood aimed her wolf-weapon at Yagura's head, while the one in the burlap hood aimed her large 'spike-thrower' at Yagura's crotch. "I've only read about the enemy we're going to face in the future, and it gives me the chills thinking about it. You think you, Orochimaru, Shimura Danzo, and the Akatsuki are among the biggest monsters in the world? Not even close! You're all nothing compared to the Darkness! At best, you're all a bunch of pansy-ass choir boys who haven't a clue what _**true**_ evil is!

"All you pussies think about is doing your worst to this world, when the Darkness has been doing its shit for far longer than you and to entire _**galaxies**_! It's destroyed many people, and _**their**_ worlds! So no, Yagura, you don't scare us; because there's something far scarier than you out there. And even if the Darkness comes to finally end us all, we will be ready; because we are Guardians…we are everywhere…and we shall know no fear!"

Mei could only remain silent at what was going on…there was nothing to say. Even Chojuro and Aoi could tell from their positions that this was going to be a fight to remember. Win or lose, the Shinobi Nations would be aware of these "Guardians" walking amongst them, and of the great enemy to come…

* * *

 _ **A/N: Let there be rock! Though I wonder…what would you say is a better use for an AI made from a Bijū? Warmind station? Better Jumpship AI? Or a really strong Exo Guardian? Hopefully, I haven't disappointed.**_

 _ **Anyway, leave classy review or die**_ _ **…your choice.**_

* * *

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **Tchaikovsky—Piotr Illych Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer, his name is big in opera circles, Disney's "Fantasia", as well as ballet. The Warmind Rasputin is a fan of his work, particularly "Pathetique" which was known as Tchaikovsky's "Suicide Note", and was the song played when you enter his compound to fight Omnigul.**_

* * *

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Kurama's Rocket Launcher—none other than the infamously nerfed Gjallarhorn**_

"… _ **and we shall know no fear."—Modified from a Space Marine special rule…as well as the back-end of the Emperor's badass boast.**_


	4. Interlude: Let It Burn

_**A/N: A bit of an interlude, so you can count this as filler if you like. But please…read and leave a classy review, would you kindly?**_

* * *

[Unknown Time and Location]

Tobi looked at his surroundings, and found that there was nothing but pitch black all around. Last he recalled, he was waiting and watching for the reports on the other Jinchūriki. That, and he was also waiting for intelligence on these mysterious vigilantes running around in the Shinobi Nations fouling up jobs left and right. Next thing he knew, he was dragged off into a vortex. There was something wrong about this area, and he should know…he'd been trained by Uchiha Madara himself.

 _You are Tobi, current leader of the Akatsuki. A master of bending time and space in your own right. With your almighty Sharingan, you can bend the will of many to your cause just as you can their own jutsu. Even now, you plan to bend the outcome of this reality to your own ends._

 _You have been taken._

It was rare, being able to unsettle Tobi, and yet this metallic, feminine voice was able to succeed where long hours of hellish training under Uchiha Madara have failed. He needed to leave now. Perhaps this was a high-powered genjutsu of some kind, and so he surged chakra through his system only to find that it didn't work. A second attempt to break out of this proved to be of no use; this was a totally different plane of existence he was in, not to mention his chakra seemed to be blocked. Whatever it was, he had to get out immediately before…

 _Rest now, this is no illusion. You have earned a respite. Your carefully-laid machinations will stay their course with or without you._

There was no escape, he knew that now. As Tobi sat up in seiza, he might as well humor that voice and settle down. After all, it was polite to hear a lady out; even if she didn't show herself.

 _What pain motivates you? What fuels your hate? What desires feed your despair?_

Tobi didn't answer. It wasn't so much that he was being defiant, as it was that he didn't see the point. This voice seemed to know so much, and he was already humoring her. Besides, if she wanted him to speak, she would've offered him a chance to do so.

 _Once, you were a loyal shinobi of Konoha. You could have been great, but your life was cut short. Through the teachings of your master and savior, you have become a master of reality. You thought to go find the one you love…but your best friend was forced to kill her. You reject this reality, just as you now reject your own friend._

 _Now you seek to make this reality your clay, and set yourself as its sculptor. With this power in your hands, you could hold your beloved in your arms; if only for but a moment._

It struck a nerve, particularly in fear. How did this voice know so much? And then it hit him: there was no other explanation. Either the speaker was having a look into his soul, or had been with him from the very beginning. Whichever it was, it disturbed him to no end that some else knew him better than his own parents.

Worse yet, he felt that he could trust this speaker; whomever she was.

 _That shall not be necessary. Madara was indeed a fine master, but his teachings of hate have left you with nothing but power. It has robbed you of all else. If you cannot have anything, neither can anyone else. If you cannot have love, therefore you must burn love. If you cannot have happiness, then it too shall be destroyed._

 _Therefore, if this reality rejects you, you must reject it._

 _There is a knife for you. It is shaped like [let it burn]._

Sure enough, he watched as a green flame burned in front of his eyes. It soon began to give way to reveal the shape of an object with a handle, before the flames dissipated to reveal an oddly-shaped blade. It was a large dagger, but with seven branches that made it look like a small torch. This was obviously a ceremonial weapon of some sort, as the blade was too ornate for practical use.

 _Take up the knife. Drive its blade into your body. Let it fuse with your flesh and your hate. Take your new shape._

Tobi reached out with no small amount of hesitation. And yet, he still felt he could trust this voice that had abducted him. However, something felt wrong about this…both with the speaker, and the knife.

The little voice inside his head had warned him to not touch it; to look away, and tell the voice where it could shove it. Unfortunately, his curiosity won out. After picking up the knife, Tobi contemplated following the voice's suggestion right off the bat. It knew him very well, and he saw no reason for it to lie to him. For some reason though, the grip felt comfortable to the touch, as though it had been waiting for him all this time.

His body reacted automatically. Tobi took off his coat, then his kimono and pointed the tip of the knife at his bare abdomen. With one pull, it would stab into his rib cage, giving the ceremonial weapon more than enough time to merge with his body. His hands trembled as he wrestled with himself over one simple question repeating itself in his head: "Should I do it?"

With an angry roar, Tobi threw down the knife. "I WILL SAY WHAT SHALL BURN!" he declared, looking around at the darkness, "If I want to make the world burn, then I shall do it on my terms!"

There was nothing but silence. As he waited for the voice's response, Tobi wondered if he'd made the wise choice. He was startled when he heard laughing.

 _It does not matter._

 _This knife already belongs to you._

 _And it shall await the day that you let it be a part of you._

 _But for now, I bid you farewell._

Before Tobi could question what the voice meant, he found himself sitting back at his safehouse. He could see the corkboard on the wall, with red pins representing reports of the vigilantes' activities. The blue pins on the other hand, represented Jinchūriki activity. But on his desk was a new addition: it was the knife that was given to him by the dark voice.

As he looked upon the knife's blade thoughtfully, Tobi chuckled to himself. "Not today, my friend. Not today."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Oh no…this can't be good. Anyway, do keep your reviews classy, would you kindly?**_


	5. Knight of the Snow

_**A/N: An attempt to do a side-story focusing on the team sent to find Naruto and bring him in for questioning. Please read and leave a classy review, would you kindly?**_

* * *

[En route to Harugakure no Sato]

The heavy drone of the zeppelin's engines could be heard in the area as civilians chattered amongst each other about the day's events. One topic that had been repeatedly discussed was the existence of a vigilante, or vigilantes, running about and practically stealing jobs from the shinobi. This was not to mention the many people that were rescued by them, as well as the declining bandit population in the wilderness.

"I hear that the shinobi are going to be replaced one of these days."

"What? No way. For one, these guys are vigilantes…even if they're upholding the law, they're not exactly doing it legally."

"You tell that to the people they saved. I say, we should bring them in and have them explain themselves."

"That's gonna be tough. I hear Kazahana Koyuki is defending one of them…the one she calls the 'Knight of the Snow', and that she pretty much owes her life to that one."

As of late, it had become the general consensus that the reason there were so many acts of vigilantism going on was because of one vigilante eventually gaining followers. Now, there were so many sporadic reports that even Kakashi could not keep track. But he could agree on one thing with these civilians: these vigilantes would be brought in sooner or later for questioning. The report from Team 10 was well-detailed, as expected from Sarutobi Asuma…something that the current Ino-Shika-Cho generation could easily corroborate with.

The crux of the matter was that it was only half of the whole picture. Somewhere along the lines, Kazahana Koyuki had run off, separating herself from the team and eventually running into one of those vigilantes. Said vigilante had spent an unknown amount of time with her, doing who knows what. It wasn't clear what was spoken between them while she was separated, especially since a blizzard had prevented Team 10 from reuniting with her. What _was_ known was that she met up with Team 10 at a designated safe house with this mysterious vigilante in tow. After a bit of a tense standoff, the vigilante and Team 10 agreed to set aside their differences for now. The vigilante agreed to take the first watch, saying he was neither tired nor hungry…but just as he turned to leave, Nara Shikamaru said he spotted a…

"Am I reading this right?" asked a voice that brought Kakashi back to reality. A good amount of him was still furious at the speaker that sat cross-legged in front of him. She had pale skin partially from her upper-class upbringing, but it only got a bit paler from a lack of sunlight in her cell. This did not stop her from being made of lean muscle, as being in that kind of environment meant that she had to be strong to survive. Rumor had it, she managed to kill almost everyone else in the Yami Kinko (to be fair, in self-defense). All this in spite of being practically in the dark and stripped of her ability to build up and use chakra, thus cementing her reputation as queen of the correctional facility.

Breaking up the pallor of her near-white skin were intricate dragon tattoos that started at circles on the back of her hands, then went up underneath her arm warmers to the ones at her shoulder before disappearing into her tank-top. He knew there was another one in her back directly on her spine, and between both her scapulae, because he'd seen a lot of high-class criminals with similar marks; it was part of a seal array that was designed to kill the convict if they were to get out of line.

She had black hair and eyes, which were focused on a folder in her hands. "Is what right?"

"This vigilante wore a Konoha hitai-ate around his upper-arm." said the girl. "You think he's a nuke-nin?"

"It's a possibility." answered Kakashi, still glaring at the girl. For the life of him, he could not fathom just what the Hokage was thinking when she let this psychopath out of jail. On the outside, Uchiha Sayuri looked like a normal, if attractive, young girl; but, as the tattoos and her recovering body could attest to, she'd done some serious jail time. Said jail time had also made her able to take on a jōnin-level shinobi even with her chakra sealed away…that poor guy was traumatized, because she fought with nothing but a pure, desperate, unadulterated viciousness she'd picked up in the Yami Kinko. Whether or not she was truly remorseful of her murder of Naruto, he couldn't tell; but he was certain he'd see soon enough.

Next to him sat a pinkette with green eyes, and the skin of another upper-class girl. However, unlike Sayuri, Sakura had been working extra hard to make herself much stronger. Not to mention she started taking on a bit of a tan from taijutsu training from Tsunade herself, as well as a few pointers from Gai. It seemed that she truly did want to make good on her promise to stop another Naruto from happening. The only question Kakashi now had for Sakura was, could she control her anger towards Sayuri long enough to catch this vigilante and bring him or her alive for questioning?

Sayuri uncrossed her legs, setting the manila folder down on the table. "Well, that's one half of the puzzle already solved. The only thing we have to do now is find out from the daimyo herself what happened in the time she spent with the vigilante, then we can go from there."

"You make that sound easy." said Sakura, her arms folded across her chest. Before the events leading up to the incident at the Valley of the End, she would have given anything to be friends with Sayuri. Now? There was utter fury in her eyes for what her former teammate did.

"I never said it was," answered Sayuri. "I'm just saying, it's a start in the right direction."

"And you would know, wouldn't you?"

"Better than being a weakling fangirl."

Sakura was about to sit up and punch Sayuri in the face when Kakashi held her back. The look in his eye made it clear that 'friendly fire' was not to be tolerated. The exact definition of 'friendly' however, was loose at the moment. Especially since Sayuri had not changed from the dead look she had in her eyes, neither did it look like she was going to defend herself. It was as though she _wanted_ Sakura to drive that fist into her face, and kill her. "You were better off letting her kill me, Kakashi," she deadpanned. "It's clear that neither of you want me around. Not that I care…nor do I blame you."

"She's not worth it, Sakura." said Kakashi. "For now, we're working with her again."

"But Kakashi-sensei…"

"Leave it be. She'll get her comeuppance one day."

Sayuri snorted before turning her attention back to the clouds. "Whoever said I haven't already gotten it?"

* * *

[Harugakure Palace, two days later]

Kazahana Koyuki sat at her throne. The Gōdaime Hokage of Konohagakure had sent word a little while ago that she'd be sending over a shinobi team to ask about her recollection of the events involving the "Knight of the Snow." Not that it was a problem; it'd been weeks since that day, but she still remembered it like the back of her hand. As much as she wanted for her rescuer to continue on with his heroic deeds, he was still a vigilante and was pretty much a fugitive.

It was very vexing, how those moments seemed to fly on by. And yet, those moments she spent with that figure in the leather overcoat affected how she ruled. She just couldn't explain it, but for some reason, this figure had given her hope for the future.

"Daimyo-sama." said the secretary, bowing before her, "The team from Konoha has arrived."

Time for her to be composed. She needed to get this off her chest…to give her side of the story that they were missing. With any luck, it'd give her savior some leniency when they questioned him. "Send them in."

With another bow, the secretary allowed them entrance. Walking into her throne room were simply three people. One of them, she remembered from her childhood as Hatake Kakashi, a man that saved her as a little girl. The other two were girls, each of them with pale skin that indicated an upper-class upbringing. The one with pink hair had a healthier appearance, with curiosity in her green eyes. The tattooed girl on the other hand had a slightly more gaunt complexion, and gave her the impression of someone that fell in with the wrong crowd.

 _Strange_ , she thought to herself, _I thought shinobi teams were composed of four people…how come there's three here?_

The second they managed to get close enough, Kakashi and his genin got down on their knees, their hands clasped together. "We're sorry to trouble you Koyuki-sama, but this is something we need to get done if we're to capture this vigilante."

"No trouble at all. I just feel I have to tell my side of the story." she answered. "But I have to ask, why are there only three of you?"

"Pardon, milady. We've lost a member long ago, and are looking for his replacement."

Koyuki let out a remorseful sigh. She'd tread into sensitive territory. "I'm sorry—"

"No need. You didn't know."

They needed to get back on schedule. "I understand you wanted to hear about my encounter with the 'Knight of the Snow?' Of how he helped save my village?"

"It's probably best that you begin with how you met him."

"Yes. Of course."

Taking a deep breath, Koyuki began to recall every bit of memory she could. "As you have probably already learned from Team 10, I separated from them. I wanted nothing more to do with my own country, and I wanted to forget the pain of losing my father. I managed to get so far that they were unable to keep up—I was hoping to get to the boat before the blizzard struck, when…"

* * *

[Yukigakure, weeks ago]

She ran through the woods, hoping the shinobi team would not drag her back. The news of a blizzard coming up would surely aid in her escape. So what if the captain was on her uncle's payroll? As long as she could…

Her thoughts were interrupted as her steps were tied together. A look at her feet showed that bolas were wrapped around her ankles, no doubt by poachers or bandits. The laughter that followed made it more than obvious it was the latter. Koyuki felt herself being rolled over by a foot to face her attackers. There were thirteen men, all of whom wore clothes suited for the winter, and carrying a variety of weapons.

One of them stepped up to her before crouching in front of her, a glimmering knife in his hands. He carried himself as the leader of these brigands. "Well lookee here what we've caught today, boys! Something better than food."

"Aw Baws, she purdy!"

"Looks to me like she's one of them upper-class bitches." said one of them, pointing the tip of his spear at her neck before she could start crawling away. "Maybe we should teach her a little humility?"

Two bandits pinned her down by the shoulders. The lead bandit snickered as his knife went to the spot of cloth that held up her breasts. "That's a good idea, Tan." he sneered, " _A very good idea_ …" He was unable to finish his sentence as a loud "bang" cracked through the air, just as something hit him in the side of the head with enough force to knock him off of Koyuki. Another "bang" followed, spinning the spear away from her neck before three more "bangs" could be heard, and the bandit named Tan was hit three more times in the torso.

The remaining bandits turned to find that the one who killed their buddies was a little guy in a fancy leather jacket, holding some kind of two-handed weapon with a smoking tube against his shoulder. They couldn't see the guy's face because he was wearing some weird full-face helmet, but they did recognize the guy as a shinobi by the Konoha hitai-ate wrapped around his left upper-arm.

"Fuck! It's one of those goddamn shinobi!"

"Screw this! I don't wanna die!"

"Don't you dare! We outnumber him! We have the advantage!"

The remaining eleven bandits charged only for the stranger to look down the length of that weapon to fire really fast projectiles into the heads of six more bandits as he slowly walked towards them. When it was seen that more than half of them were taken down, the remaining bandits turned to retreat.

It was very clear that the stranger had no intention of letting the bandits go when he released one hand from the rifle. There was a shimmering light that gleamed in his free hand before it died down to reveal a complicated, spherical device in his hand. With a single toss, the metal ball sailed through the air, and landed just ahead of the remaining bandits, creating a dark cloud that slowly rose from the ground. As the bandits ran through the cloud, Koyuki could see them all being struck by lightning bolts from within.

None of the bandits remained.

Koyuki turned her head to face her rescuer as he came to a stop in front of her. "You were better off going with that Shinobi team." he said, pulling a metal pin in his weapon to check something. It was like a big black box with reliefs cut into it of blue-green, and a hole to put a thumb through. What seemed to make it stand out apart from its complexity was a silvery insignia of what looked to be a rabbit peeking up from a wall near the back of the weapon, where it terminated in an L-shaped pad that pointed downward.

Before she could ask him anything, she watched as he placed his weapon on his back to pick up the bandit leader's knife, and cut her ties. As he stood back up, a sphere with eight points appeared next to his head. "We've got to get out of here." it said, "That blizzard's going to hit us any minute now."

"Then let's get her to safety." said the kid. As he reached out, a large machine had begun to shape itself out of a spark of light in the boy's hand. It was a streamlined thing, hovering a few feet off the ground; the handlebars. He settled himself down on the seat, grabbing onto the handlebars…his posture had indicated to her that he knew how to operate that thing.

Once he tested the machine to ensure it was good for riding, he turned his attention back to her, offering a hand. "You don't have to trust me now, but we've got to get out of this storm. And unless you want to freeze out here in the blizzard, I suggest you come with me."

There was no question about it. The encounter with the brigands had cost her a lot of time. Even if she wanted to buy off the captain with whatever price he would probably demand, there was no guarantee she would make it there alive. Not to mention that there were prices even she found were too high. With that thought on mind, she accepted the offered hand, and was helped up with a gentle tug.

* * *

[The Present]

"Where did he take you on his vehicle?" asked Kakashi, settling down with Sayuri and Sakura next to him. The two genin listened in with rapt attention as to what her encounter with the vigilante was like.

"He took us to a nearby cave to wait out the blizzard." answered Koyuki "After he got there, he set his tiny machine to monitor the storm and let him know when it was clear to get out. I think he called it a 'Ghost.' In any case, we were forced to settle down in the cave after he dispelled the vehicle."

Kakashi had a recorder turned on as he watched Koyuki carefully. Not that he really needed to; she didn't have anything to hide. But very likely, he wanted to the ability to review this interview at a later occasion. "Did anything happen between you while you were there?"

"Nothing happened; we just sat there in silence while he kept watch. I just couldn't handle it anymore, so we spoke…"

* * *

[Weeks ago]

There was nothing said between Koyuki and her mysterious savior as the crackle of the campfire filled the atmosphere. He propped up his complicated weapon next to himself, as he read a book that Ghost had materialized into his hands. Even though his face was hidden by the helmet he wore, it was clear to her that he wasn't just enjoying his reading; he was also keeping an eye open. Partly to make sure nothing attacked them, but also to make sure she didn't try anything stupid—like trying to run away in the middle of a blizzard.

It was very easy to assume that the bandits that attacked her stayed in this cave, if the thirteen bunks and the poached deer were any indication. The rescuer picked up a nearby knife, and went about helping her to cook it. Strangely enough, he did not seem inclined to pull off his helmet, and contented himself with the book in his hands.

"Who are you?" she finally asked, in between bites of her deer leg. "Are you a shinobi?"

"Just your friendly neighborhood vigilante," answered the kid, turning a page in his book. "I gotta say though, I didn't think I'd be helping a celebrity."

"And how would you know that?"

The vigilante chuckled as he seemed to regard her. "I watched all your movies when I was younger. I guess you could say I'm a fan…that, and it was a mission I willingly signed up for, Koyuki-hime."

There was a bitter taste to Koyuki's mouth as she glared at her rescuer. "Let me guess…you want my autograph in return for saving my life?"

"I'd like that, but not now." he said, getting back to his book. "Right now, I've got to help get you back to your people so that you can bring them to a better future."

"And why do you care so much about me?" sneered Koyuki, "Why do you care so much about my people? Don't you know there's no such thing as a 'better future?'"

The vigilante laughed. Whether he was mocking her or not, she didn't know and didn't care. Right now, she just wanted out so that she could get on that boat and get out of here. There was nothing but pain and misery here in this land. "To be honest, I didn't think Fūn-Hime was such a pessimist in real-life. Then again, I didn't know better as a kid."

"Well what were you expecting?"

"You have no idea what you've done for the world have you?" asked the vigilante, closing his book to regard her through the oddly-shaped visor of his helmet, "You've inspired those who had no hope for the future to actually _have_ hope. Trust me, when I was growing up, I didn't have much to my name, and let's just say my life is a lot better now than the first years of my life. Then one day, I come across an outdoor theater; I watched as you went through your adventures on the screen. And then I thought, maybe one day I could find a princess like in the movies and have my own happy ending with her. Maybe even rescue you.

"Anyway, the way I look at it, you're just as much a dreamer as the people that watch your movies. I could see in your eyes the hopefulness for a better tomorrow whenever you performed…and that's something you just can't fake."

There was a tense silence between them before Koyuki turned away to avert her gaze. "So what? There's no such thing as a…"

"…that's because you're not even trying," interrupted the vigilante. "The reason you aren't getting a happy ending is because you're not working towards it. You're sitting in a cave, just about to start crying to a stranger about how unfair the world is when there are a lot of people that have it a lot worse than you. It's like you want to sit there, having people pity you instead of writing the story the way you want. If you want a brighter future, you've got to work towards it and make it so that nobody can take it away from you. You have to be ready to bleed for it. That's what it takes to have a happy ending."

Koyuki had no idea why, but for some reason this lone vigilante was right. For a moment, it was like the words he'd spoken to her sounded they were meant to be told to her by this very person. Had she been wasting her time, wallowing in her own self-pity that she'd forgotten that she truly wanted this happy ending? She then sighed in acceptance. "Even if what you say is true, I'm all alone. I mean, I've been out of my own homeland for such a long time; how are they going to accept me?"

She could've sworn she'd felt him smiling under his helmet. "It just so happens that I've hit something that's appropriate to you in this book," he said, opening his book and flipping through pages with his gloved hands. "Now let's see…where is it? Where is…ah-ha! There it is!"

As he found the section of the book he was looking for, the vigilante cleared his throat. "Excuse me, because my studies in this language are still pretty new…"

" _NOW this is the law of the jungle, as old and as true as the sky,_

 _And the wolf that shall keep it may prosper, but the wolf that shall break it must die._

 _As the creeper that girdles the tree trunk, the law runneth forward and back;_

 _For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack."_

The vigilante closed the book, and looked back up at her. "You're not alone—from what I've heard, you have loyal followers at home who want that better future too. They're so sick of your uncle doing whatever the hell he likes, that they are willing to become part of _your_ pack. You need to be strong a wolf; if not for yourself, then for those that care about you. But don't forget the sacrifices of those that died and may die for you."

Something about this gave Koyuki some thought. Had she been so deep in her self-pity that she didn't see she was so alone after all? Did she want to write this story, and give herself the happy ending? And as she thought harder on the matter, Koyuki realized that this vigilante was right. She needed to make her own happy ending, and to give that to the other people that had suffered for so long. And as long as her uncle sat on her father's throne, that would never happen—she was going to see to it that his usurping ways would be punished.

* * *

[Present]

There was a bit of silence from Kakashi as he took everything in. It was as though he were considering something. "What happened after the cave?"

"We waited until the blizzard was over, then we took his vehicle out. I think he called it a 'Sparrow.' Anyway, he drove us to where the safe house was, and that's where Team 10 met him. Everything after that, is in the report."

"I've read about that, but how did the encounter between Team 10 and the vigilante go?"

Koyuki let out a sigh as she propped her head up with her hand. "Well, it could've gone better…"

* * *

[Safe House, weeks ago]

Asuma stretched as he holstered his trench knives. Team 10 had just geared up in preparation for the search and rescue operation. It was especially important that Shikamaru and Ino synch up for this, because the one being rescued was a very reluctant princess. The safe house they had to shack up in was a hunting lodge owned by one of Asama Sandayū's supporters; a nobleman who had nothing but the utmost in contempt for Dotō, after the tyrant supposedly raped his daughter. It was also an established location for the team to meet. "You kids remember the plan?" he asked.

"Choji stays here, and guards Asama," answered Shikamaru, "Meanwhile, the rest of us will go back, find Koyuki-hime, and bring her back here. Simple."

Shikamaru did not do so well in the days following the "Sayuri Retrieval" mission. Something that Asuma understood, considering that it both ended up as a failure and with one death. Like quite a few people that mourned the death of Uzumaki Naruto, he swore that he'd get stronger to prevent another incident like that from happening ever again. Since then, he'd been spending a lot of time playing shogi with one of the smartest people he knew: his own father. Neither Nara pulled any stops in their game, as Shikamaru had proven to be more than a match for Shikaku. This would benefit the young Nara heir to no end, as he was now playing shogi with Aburame Shiina on an equal footing.

Like Sakura, Ino had chosen to take up tutoring under Tsunade-sama to become skilled in the art of healing. However, what she lacked in the ability to use the technique common to all iryō-nin she more than compensated for with her knowledge of medicinal plants, as well as basic battlefield surgery. Overall, she had gotten stronger and had a license to be a field surgeon; and had she continued her training under Tsunade, she would've become a fine anesthesiologist. Her reason for doing this was because Shikamaru was likely going to work himself to the bone to prevent another Naruto incident; in turn, she wanted to make sure her own team was at least taken care of until they could get to a proper hospital. That, and she felt that if there were a medic on the field, Naruto would not have had to die fighting Sayuri.

As he too was in the "Sayuri Retrieval Team," Choji had been among those that had to stay behind to allow the others to pass. After hearing of Naruto's fate, the Akimichi heir stopped eating for a few days out of guilt. He believed that if he'd been stronger, he could've finished the fight he had with the Sound Four member Jirobō and possibly made it to back up Naruto before Sayuri killed him. The second he finally got over his failure, Choji began training in the Akimichi clan's taijutsu style even harder; he was determined to make sure that he would always have the energy to keep fighting. To that end, he picked up a few pointers from Rock Lee and Maito Gai on how to increase his own stamina so that he could outlast his enemies.

Their missions were agreed upon, and everyone knew what they had to do. Before Asuma, Shikamaru and Ino left the building, the jōnin stopped his students from saying a word. "Wait, listen up."

Everyone listened in, as a subtle droning sound began to fill the air. It got louder and louder as something got closer before coming to a complete stop. The door opened suddenly, causing everyone to tense until they saw the very target they were about to rescue. "Koyuki-hime," said Asama, " I'm glad you were okay."

"I'm sorry for running away like that." she finally said. Asuma noted that she'd no longer had the look of a spoiled brat about her. Something changed, and he knew it.

"What happened? How did you survive the blizzard?"

"I was rescued."

Now this made Asuma very curious. Who was her savior?

Before he could ask, the doors creaked open, and in walked what looked like a kid no older than his own team. He wore a rounded, full-faced helmet and a fancy leather overcoat and what looked like a hitai-ate tied around his left upper-arm. In his hands was a black and jade-blue item he guessed was a weapon.

Within seconds, Team 10 had reacted quickly, the four of them slipped into fighting stances. The stranger's response was to look down the sights of his weapon. If Asuma was correct, this thing probably worked like a very advanced-looking crossbow. The standoff that followed had been very tense, each side being too wary of the other to make a move. The four of them were about ready to pounce and overtake the stranger the second he pulled the…

"I'd stop right now," said Koyuki, stepping between the two groups, "This kid saved my life. If it weren't for him, I'd have frozen to death in the blizzard because of my own selfishness."

The two sides lowered their weapons, keeping a wary eye on each other. The kid in the leather jacket walked on up to Team 10. "Nice to see some friendly faces around here." he said.

* * *

[Present, hours later]

Kakashi, Sayuri, and Sakura walked towards the zeppelin, their thoughts wandered towards the Knight of the Snow's actions. It was also known that he had an arsenal of very complicated and deadly weapons that put kunai and shuriken to shame, in addition to wielding what looked like a really strong Raiton affinity. That was to say nothing of the technology he had at his disposal. If he were able to summon that vehicle just as easily as he could that talking machine known as "Ghost," then he could be anywhere in the continent. Then there was that flying machine that swooped in and rescued him just as Team 10 was about to bring him in.

He helped this place become what it was today because of his assistance in deposing Doto, which made it all the more difficult to do this.

"This really sucks," said Sakura, "Now we have an even bigger job ahead of us. I mean, it's already hard enough as it is with his deadly toys, but to bring someone in for questioning when they are revered as a hero?"

"I think we caught a lucky break that the daimyo was willing to come forward with her experiences," agreed Sayuri, "When someone is seen as a hero and their belief in him is strong enough, people are more likely to do everything they can to help that hero. I am guessing that she did it in hopes that the Knight would be given even a sliver of leniency for his actions. The sad thing is, we don't even know how far we're going to go when we interrogate him."

"That's not quite our problem." answered Kakashi, as the three of them entered the hotel they stayed at. "We're here to do a job and…"

"Excuse me? Are you the group staying in Room 231?" asked a voice coming from the left. Kakashi turned to see a man sitting up from a couch; the goggles and a messenger bag that he wore marked him as a courier ninja. Those guys were friendly, and determined.

"Yeah, what of it?"

"I have a message for you from Konohagakure no Sato," answered the courier, fishing through his messenger bag. He then found an envelope, and gave it to Kakashi. "That's 25 ryo."

Kakashi reached into his back pocket to get his wallet, and handed the man a 25-ryo bill before opening the letter. His single eye scanned the document within before it widened in shock. "Both of you pack your things. Kirigakure no Sato is under attack by the vigilante wearing the Konoha hitai-ate!"

* * *

 _ **A/N: A bit anxious for me to do this, but I really wanted to follow a bit on the hunters and do a bit of explaining on what happened during Yukigakure. This is only part of the story, but when I get to running into Team 10 again, I'll very likely do a side-story to finish off the side-arc. And please keep it classy!**_

* * *

 _ **References:**_

 _ **The Law of the Jungle—this is an excerpt of the whole poem. This can be read in Rudyard Kipling's "The Jungle Book" and is the theme of the Destiny Trailer starring Giancarlo Esposito (you know him as Gustavo Fring).**_


	6. Welcome to the New Age

_**A/N: Think of this as the last chapter I'll do for the year. If you're wondering about any changes done in this chapter, then I would go back to chapter 3. Do read and review, would you kindly?**_

 _ **And do please thank Soleneus for helping me to keep this story good and straight.**_

* * *

[Hyūga District, Hiashi's manor]

It was a long night yesterday, and Hanabi was tired out after the time she had spent talking about the thing she witnessed. She unceremoniously dropped herself upon her bed with a relaxed huff. It also helped that she'd just taken a very relaxing bath, and was treated for her head injury.

She knew what she saw; some stranger walking into the graveyard, and bringing Hinata-nee back to life with some blue glow. Hanabi had already told her father about what she witnessed the second she was found at the doorstep, with the Hokage, and several of the T&I department nearby to check if she was lying. Whether anybody believed her story, or her later suspicions that the figure skulking around in the graveyard was the vigilante that was wanted all around the world was up in the air. She'd been knocked out by somebody that hit her in the back of the head, just as she was about to scream for the guards to come─this meant that whatever evidence she had would be dismissed as a delusion. It just so happened that she didn't have her Byakugan active, which meant that she was caught unawares by two strangers; a fact and insult that poured salt upon her wounds.

What was clear was that after her account, the village was now on high alert. That was the third time someone had infiltrated Konoha, and this time they were able to escape without anyone noticing. How they did that was still being investigated by the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, as well as a few of her kinsmen.

"Nee-chan, what are they doing to you?" she asked herself.

"I really wouldn't worry about that," said a voice that startled her. "Your sister's fine."

Hanabi had a very good look at the speaker, and she was starting to freak out. It just so happened that she was talking to a black little ball with a glowing blue square for an eye that looked right back at her. Surrounding the ball were eight triangular pyramids that gave it a cubic shape.

Fear gave way to curiosity as Hanabi craned her head closer to have a better look at the thing that surprised her. "What are you?" she whispered.

Three knocks sounded off, startling Hanabi yet again. She looked over her shoulder to see that the black ball had disappeared. Three more knocks had denied her any notion of a nap, while turning her attention to the door. Might as well be polite. "Come on in!"

The sound of the door opening broke through the silent room, and revealed a form that Hanabi could not help but pity. How could she not? After hearing of Hinata's death, Hiashi had practically shut down…his motions having been something close to autopilot. There was despair in his expression, but at the same time there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes. It shone when she told him what she saw in the graveyard before being knocked out…perhaps this was what happened when one lost a child, and heard that there's still hope.

"Am I disturbing you?" he asked, his voice having hollowed out for a while now.

"N-no, father." said Hanabi, sitting up to regard her father with respect.

Hiashi said nothing, but made a silent gesture to ask Hanabi for permission to sit next to her. A nod of approval was all the permission he needed to seat himself next to his youngest daughter, and the current heiress of the clan. "How are you holding up?"

"Fine." she said, her voice becoming very respectful despite having been denied her nap.

There was a tense silence between father and daughter as they both contemplated what they were about to say. However, it would be Hiashi that would break the silence first. "Are you certain about what you saw?" he asked, his face still looking forward and out the window. "Did you really see your sister come back from the grave?"

Hanabi scoffed, looking outside as well. "You probably don't believe me, do you?"

"From what I've heard of how the Sandaime Hokage was killed, I'm a little more inclined to believe you." Hiashi answered, earning a surprised look from Hanabi. "I've heard rumor from some ANBU that during the invasion by Orochimaru, that traitorous snake managed to resurrect the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage. But what you described was something I'd never heard of. Regardless, I have a personal mission for you."

Now she was curious. What could her father want to ask of her that he had to come to her room personally. Taking her silence as permission to continue, Hiashi took a deep breath. "I'm aware that you've made strides during your time in the Academy; and I am actually proud that you made them. I'm also sorry I wasn't there when you graduated, and so I have no right to ask anything of you now. But this is a request I'm making of you as a father: if in your travels as a shinobi you should find the vigilante, I expect you to question them and bring your sister home."

He was serious, and Hanabi knew that. Still, she would've looked for Hinata even if he didn't make that request. Her answer was simple: "I'll do it."

There was no answer, except for a nod. Hiashi sat up, and left the room, closing the door behind him as he left. Hanabi sighed, as she realized how big of a mission it was going to be to find her sister. "There's no worries on that end," said a voice from over her shoulder, "I'll help you."

"You never answered my question." Hanabi replied, looking to see that it was the little black ball from earlier.

"More on that later, and when we're alone." said the little black ball, looking back at her with its square eye. "But for now, all you need to know is that I'm a friend."

Hanabi had no idea what to make of this little black ball that spoke back to her; but what she did know was that it was the only way she could find her sister, and bring her home. Besides, it seemed trustworthy enough. "I have a lot of questions."

"Oh good. I love questions! And we have all the time we need."

* * *

[Mizukage Tower]

It was extremely easy for the Hunter to sneak into the Mizukage Tower, especially when one considered he was a highly-skilled Bladedancer. In life, he was a Kage-level shinobi with a very well-known technique that made him the terror of Iwagakure. After death, he mastered the ins and outs of all the Hunter classes, eventually specializing as a Bladedancer. Now he could teleport almost anywhere in a short distance without much effort…which saw him through many of the patrols and panicking shinobi in the village as he followed his charge. Anyone that saw him was either stabbed in the eye or took a silenced shot or two to the face from his sidearm.

Now he sat in the rafters as a standoff was happening. On the one side was Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage and the Jinchūriki of the Sanbi no Kyodaigame picking up his hooked staff in preparation for the fight to come. Staring back at him were three Guardians…one of whom in particular he was watching. The Speaker had given this mission to him specifically to watch over Uzumaki Naruto—not that she had to order him to do so. After all, Guardian or not, he was still the boy's father.

Throughout the two years he'd been watching Naruto, he saw the boy grow up to be an impressive Guardian in his own right, as well as a craftsman in his own right. He'd crafted a good number of weapons, including his own Light-infused sword in his spare time, and was in the process of doing his own research. Out of respect for the boy, he chose not to look into his notes; but he had a feeling that whatever it was that Naruto was thinking of doing in those notes, it would be big. What he _did_ know was that the boy's research involved looking into the three Guardian classes, but what he intended to achieve from that was anybody's guess.

Outside the office, the Bladedancer spotted the leadership of the Kirigakure rebels watching the fight. A part of him wanted to strangle his son for deciding to storm the village, but the damage had already been done the day he was sent back to the Shinobi Nations. If he was anything like his mother, then Naruto wasn't exactly the subtle type, and the Shinobi Nations Guardians had more than two years of skulking around graveyards and battlefields to build up their numbers which rendered subtlety moot. In all fairness, the exposure of the Guardians to the world was inevitable; with so many people now running about and pretty much being vigilantes, they were bound to be found out eventually.

Either way, it would be a fight to remember…

* * *

[Naruto]

The tension could be felt in the office between Naruto, Kurama, and Haku. A bit of Light sent into the sword set the blade alight, as he immediately held it in both hands. It had a dull, tsurugi-type blade with a cruciform hilt and a sharp tip. He primarily built it to channel his Light and amplify his power, but it did have a trick hidden away. Haku kept her machine gun at the ready to fill Yagura with holes at close range while Kurama shouldered her rocket launcher to draw her knife. It was very likely the fight could easily be taken out of the office and into the village, and when that happened it was Kurama and Haku's responsibility to make sure Yagura did not escape.

Yagura brandished his hooked staff, ready to do battle. The aura of his Bijū chakra could be seen glowing around his body as he skillfully twirled his weapon around in one hand. He brought the crook of his staff down to smash his desk in half as he charged Naruto. His answer was to bring his blade around, meeting Yagura's swing to parry the staff away with a well-placed hit to the shaft before bringing the blade back down to bisect the tyrant. Yagura hopped back just in time to sweep his staff low in an attempt to catch Naruto by the ankle only for Kurama to stomp on the weapon, forcing the Mizukage to drop it while attempting to cut his rib cage open with her knife in a reverse-grip. When he bobbed back from the slash, he was forced to roll backwards away from his weapon to avoid getting stabbed in the face.

Once he landed on both feet, Yagura found an opportunity to fly through hand-seals until he found Haku aiming her machine gun at him. The weapon crackled with lightning as she began to unload its massive spikes in his direction. He managed to hop away just in time to watch as the rounds from the lightning-gun in her hands chewed away at the walls of his office, revealing the daylight outside where he stood. She kept the gigantic weapon in her hands steady, sending rounds his way until he was forced to run into Kurama and Naruto's general direction. Only when the two of them closed in did she stop firing, as Kurama began the fight with a straight kick, driving her metal heel into his chest with enough force to knock him back.

As Yagura staggered, Naruto brought his longsword around for a downward diagonal cut on his next step forward. The Mizukage rolled back, and managed to get his staff back just in time to to block Kurama bringing her knife down on his face with the shaft, deflect it away from his head, and bring the crook of his staff up in an attempt to dig the hook under her chin. He would have ripped her head off in one swing, had Kurama not bent backwards and used the momentum to form a sidearm in her hand with the barrel pointed in Yagura's face. Yagura managed to twist his arms and staff to lock Kurama's arm before using her shoulder as a lever against his back to throw her aside.

Getting back up from throwing the heavy woman, Yagura watched as a long blade impaled him from behind. Naruto had rushed in with his longsword, and ran its blade through the Mizukage's torso. A single kick pushed Yagura off the sword and onto his knees, as Naruto readied his body to execute the tyrant from behind. In response, Yagura used what strength he had left to swing his staff around to trip up Naruto in mid-swing before smashing his way out the window. As he got up and saw what had happened, Naruto turned to Haku and Kurama. "Remember the plan."

Kurama nodded as she changed subclasses. No longer did he feel her give off the aura of warmth that was associated Solar Light, but in its place was the cold, dark pull of the Void.

Haku took the time to reload her machine gun as Kurama and Naruto jumped out the window to chase their quarry. Once she was satisfied that her weapon was ready for action, she walked towards the remnants of Yagura's desk with her hand outstretched. As if on command, her Ghost had appeared, hovering over her open palm as it looked back at her. "Scan everything in the room, starting with the desk. Get as much as you can, and make it fast."

The Ghost nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

It floated off of her hand, and began hovering over the desk. It fired a blue beam of light at the remains of the desk. Her eyes then found the dumbstruck appearance of the Bloodline Rebel leaders, causing her to sigh. "I really wouldn't bother trying to catch us." she said, pulling the bolt on her machine gun while her Ghost started searching every document in the room, "You already know what we're all capable of; what kind of technology we have on hand. Besides that, we're everywhere…fighting to make the world a better place."

There was a silence that told Haku that her Ghost was done scanning. She turned her attention to the Ghost as it floated towards her. "We've got everything; I've left no page behind."

"Time to go then." acknowledged Haku, the Ghost suddenly vanishing into thin-air.

"Wait, who are you people?" asked the auburn-haired beauty, just as Haku was ready to leap out the window with her machine gun slung across her back.

Haku turned to regard her. "You can call us 'Guardians.'"

Whatever else the redhead had to say was cut off as Haku leaped out the window.

* * *

[Kirigakure no Sato]

Naruto glided above the rooftops as he kept an eye open for Yagura. He could be anywhere, but he kept his sword at the ready; he'd yet to unveil its secret trick. And if that failed, he could always fall into the Stormtrance, and fry Yagura with extremely high-current electrical fields. Dead or alive, Yagura's body had to be kept out of Akatsuki's hands; especially considering that the Warlocks discovered that they primarily wanted the Bijū within him. For what reason, he had no idea, but he agreed with their logic that it was nothing good.

From the intel stolen from Jiraiya's spy network by other Warlocks, the Akatsuki was an organization of nuke-nin that included Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, both of whom he'd run into when he was out to find Tsunade-baachan. Neither of them was a slouch in combat (as he'd learned the hard way) and they both complemented each other. There were ten members who were all at least around kage-level, each one paired with another Akatsuki member to offset each other's weaknesses. In that case, it was the obvious pairing of Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu mastery with Hoshigaki Kisame's brute force tactics.

As it turned out, he was too late to save their first two victims, as well as to keep their respective Bijū out of their hands. Granted, Naruto just so happened to find both of their corpses with two free Ghosts on hand, turning them both into Guardians; but he would be damned if he let another Jinchūriki suffer the same fate as both Han and Roshi. That's why this mission was especially important, as he wanted to beat Akatsuki to the punch. To that end, he sent word over to the Tower at Hikarigakure to send over six more Ghosts under his protection so that he could keep an eye out for the other Jinchūriki and keep their bodies and Bijū out of Akatsuki's hands. He would hand each of them a Ghost, and have them all come to Nami no Kuni so that they could fight back against these pawns of the Darkness.

The Tower had said that extra Ghosts would be on their way specifically for this mission. In the meantime, it would be his responsibility (as well as that of the other Shinobi Nations Guardians) to prevent the Akatsuki from getting any more money, and adding more Guardians to their numbers. So far, they'd been successful at that end in a variety of ways: beating them to their assassination contracts by killing their targets before them (thanks to the long ranged weapons available); performing rescue missions pro-bono; enforcing borders between all the nations; even the occasional bodyguard work.

Once those Ghosts show up, his mission to save the Jinchūriki would commence. He would get to Gaara later; right now, he needed to get Yagura's body and his Bijū before he could go to his friend from Suna. And it just so happened, that one of them managed to arrive early. In the meantime, the City had been sending in more Ghosts more often to bolster their numbers.

"I know you're hiding somewhere Yagura!" he called upon landing, taking cautious steps around the rooftops, "It's about high time we end this. We're here to stop you before you hurt anybody else."

"You mean to kill me?" came Yagura's voice from out of nowhere.

He was near, and Naruto knew it. What he needed now was to draw Yagura out. "If we have to."

"And what makes you think I want to stop?"

"I've read your files. Until recently, you were never bloodthirsty; much less prejudiced. I think you at least deserve another chance at life. But one way or another, I'm not letting you fall into the Akatsuki's hands."

"Why should I listen to a Bloodline freak like you?"

"Haven't you heard? The Akatsuki has already killed two Jinchūriki by ripping out their Bijū. They don't care if you're a Kage, they just want your power to do whatever sick shit they want."

"How are you any different?"

"It would be better than what you've got here. You've killed lots of people just because you think they have kekkei genkai. If anything, I would like to catch you alive."

The laughing made it clear that a fight was imminent. "I'd like to see you try!" Yagura roared, his voice clearly behind Naruto. His hands quickly flew through seals before he finally completed the array. "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"

It was a split-second reaction as Naruto summoned a grenade into his hand while Yagura formed the head of a dragon out of the surrounding water. As the dragon neared his position, Naruto rolled aside while taking advantage of the momentum to toss his weapon. The dragon splashed into the roof, while the grenade sailed through the air, eventually cracking open and allowing an arcing bolt of electricity to electrocute Yagura. The tyrant was barely able to avoid having more than a million amperes of current flowing into his body, only to watch as a flaming object flew in his direction. As he hopped aside at the last minute, he watched as the projectile split into multiple smaller objects that began to chase after him like wolves on the hunt. Quick thinking had caused him to fly through more hand seals to create a multitude of Mizu-Bunshin in rapid succession to avoid being blasted to pieces.

Seeing his opportunity to try out the trick he installed in his sword, Naruto reached back, and threw the sword straight at Yagura just as he managed to land. The blade spun around as it sailed through the air, but it was slow enough that Yagura was barely able to hop over it. The second he landed in a crouch, Yagura watched as Naruto had his hand outreached. Before he could question what it was that he was doing, he watched as his arm was lopped off at the elbow from behind as the sword had veered behind him, and came flying back. He dropped to his knees in pain as he grabbed the stump of his arm.

As he soon as he got his sword back, Naruto watched as the Kurama landed right next to him. The sound of someone landing from behind had told him that Haku had arrived. A look at Yagura told him that the Mizukage was getting desperate. He needed to end this fight immediately before anyone else got hurt. "There's no escape, Yagura!" he called out, "One way or another, we're getting you out of this place! You really want to test us?"

Yagura's wounds had started sealing themselves up as he glared back at the three of them, his arm beginning to piece itself back together. There was a disturbing grin on his face as an aura began to surround his body. "Are you a betting man?" he challenged. "How sure are you that you can take on the Jinchūriki of the Sanbi no Kyodaigame!?" As he spoke, the aura around Yagura began to take shape while he stood back up. Three streams of teal energy began to billow behind him wildly like the tails of a wild animal. Naruto could feel the power of the beast starting to empower its container, and knew that they all had to step it up.

However, he could feel Kurama's response as she started to unleash her own Bijū aura. It was red, and much to the horror of Yagura, it did not stop at three trails of energy. They all began to shape into nine tails of power, all but confirming the identity of the woman in the hood. As the aura intensified, she started forming a bow in her hands. "If you hold my brother, Isobu, then I'm afraid you're nothing more than a pushover!" she said, creating a purple sphere of Void Light at the tip of each 'tail' and at the business end of the bow, "Even though this shell is made of metal and plastic, it does not change the fact that I am Kurama, the Kyūbi no Yoko!"

Yagura said nothing. Instead, he charged the three Guardians hoping to finish them off before they could kill him. Kurama simply 'nocked' an arrow into her bow, and rapidly began firing arrows in Yagura's path until she ran out, using the Void Light being built up at her tails to reload. As the arrows dug into the ground, they began to turn into spheres of purple Void Light that ensnared the Jinchūriki in strands of purple light. With each sphere he passed, Yagura found himself being slowed down by the second as a total of ten purple lines had slowed him down significantly, but he was still moving fairly quickly.

It was Haku's turn, as she aimed her machine gun at Yagura and began trying to empty the clip. At first, the gun fired its spikes slowly, until it began to speed up. Yagura's response was to hop back and create thick walls of water that slowed down each bullet. She then moved in close, drew her knife while extending its blade with an exploding sheath of crackling Arc Light as she leaped into the fray, dodging his attacks, and cutting into him with hopes that his wounds would be cauterized by the electric energy blade. Her dance-like moves had aimed for vital spots: cutting at the subclavian arteries; stabbing into the femoral arteries; slashing at the jugular veins; stabs at major organs such as the kidney and the lung; even attempts at cutting his ribs apart. However, for every cut she managed to land, his Bijū form managed to heal before anything was cauterized; then again, this was part of the plan to help drain off much of his chakra through fighting and forcing him to heal often.

It was dangerous, as she'd always been fragile, but her speed and agility helped her survive this dance to the death. However, she kept in mind that all it would take for her to be put out of commission was to take a single blow from Yagura's empowered strikes. Luckily, being turned into a Guardian had given her enough stamina to keep up, but it did not change the fact that care had to be taken when fighting with an opponent that seemed to be getting faster.

Her final attack came when she stomped him in the instep, and spun around rapidly in such a manner that he was cut at least three times before kicking him away. Yagura's wounds had healed over quickly, and he rushed in in an attempt to put down Haku. Any intent he had to kill her was quashed immediately when Naruto had sent a short burst of lightning from both of his hands into Yagura's body, staggering the Mizukage for a moment. He then folded his arms over his chest, bending slightly forward while taking and storing massive amounts of Arc Light into his body like a human capacitor, before allowing it to burst off of him like a nova and freezing Yagura in place with curiosity as he entered the Stormtrance.

Lightning crackled around on Naruto's body as he began hovering in the air. Yagura quickly created a wall of coral around himself, fully intent upon awakening Isobu. Naruto was having none of it, vanishing and reappearing directly behind Yagura, sending arcs of high-voltage lightning into his target with one hand, and interrupting his jutsu painfully. There was not enough current in the bolts to kill the Mizukage, just enough to stun him. At that moment, Naruto was thankful he learned to control the intensity of his lightning, being able to change his bolts from 'stun' to 'fried turkey' at a moment's notice.

The problem was that one high-volt, low-current bolt was not enough to put a Jinchūriki into the realm of unconsciousness. As Yagura attempted to fight back, not even bothering to continue erecting his coral-shaped defenses, Naruto simply teleported away and sent more low-current electricity into the Jinchūriki's body, his body twitching as each stream of electricity short-circuited his system. One punch caught Naruto by surprise, but he simply teleported away, and sent one last bolt of electricity into Yagura's face. It had so much force that it sent Yagura flying out of his coral barrier, and landing him on his back; his muscles having lost control, twitching uncontrollably before they were allowed to relax and his body was lost to unconsciousness. Just the scenario Naruto needed, and just in time for the Stormtrance to be broken.

He turned around to Haku and Kurama as they moved in closer. The three of them still had energy to spare if that's what it took to knock him out again. Naruto hefted Yagura over his shoulder; the fight was over, and the job was done. But the other ghosts needed to get here sooner if they wanted to make this mission even feasible. "Time to go, ladies."

"Before you do, I would recommend you put that body down." said the voice of Mei, landing with a number of rebels nearby. "We have to put Yagura on trial for his crimes."

* * *

[Elsewhere]

The hours were ticking away as Tobi looked on the cork board. There were red thumbtacks embedded on a map that represented reports of vigilante activity that overtook the blue pins which were the known Jinchūriki locations. At the rate he was going, he would soon be running out of red thumbtacks. Every one he had to push into the map represented lost income for the Akatsuki. Not such a big loss, he reasoned; money was only a means to an end…but it still made things easier in the long run.

But what did frustrate him was the fact that these vigilantes were becoming such a pain. At first, it was nothing; just a few sporadic incidents that grew slowly into a larger mosquito. But after the Yonbi and Gobi were absorbed into the Gedo statue, the number of incidents skyrocketed in a matter of months as if in response.

And now, his spies reported that the vigilantes had stormed Kirigakure no Sato, killing many Loyalist shinobi en route. Not only that, but their trajectory had them heading towards the Mizukage tower. This only served to confirm what he was thinking; this was likely because of the Gobi and Yonbi incident. How the vigilantes knew about this, as well as Akatsuki's plans, was a mystery.

Tobi was interrupted from his thoughts as a runner had finally arrived. He took tentative steps closer. A sign that it was bad news. "T-T-To-Tobi-sama…" stuttered the spy, gulping for air. "W-W-We've received word our spies in Kirigakure…"

"And?"

The runner took a deep breath, as if savoring it. "Three vigilantes have defeated the Mizukage, and made off with his body."

Oh, now this was bad news indeed. But perhaps there was a good side to this. "Have we been able to track them?"

"No, our spies reported that before we could leave any tracking seals on them, large flying machines had descended from the sky. Apparently, the machines reverse-summoned the vigilantes and flew away quickly. But we did catch some news."

"What can they tell us?"

"Of the three vigilantes, one of them wielded the power of the Kyūbi no Yoko."

Tobi was confused. The Kyūbi no Yoko? How could that be? Uchiha Sayuri had confirmed that Uzumaki Naruto was dead. She said in her report that she had to watch as his body fell upon, and was impaled by a sharp rock after a fall down a waterfall. So how could one of the vigilantes be wielding the power of the Kyūbi? Unless…

The runner flinched as Tobi took a deep breath, and let out a cathartic sigh. "You may leave. But tell our other spies to keep an eye out for the vigilantes; especially for the ones that took part in storming Kirigakure."

Determined to not chance his luck, the runner bowed, and left with a terrified, "Yes Tobi-sama!"

It seemed that a new power was emerging, and these vigilantes were clearly organized enough to be challenging Akatsuki as they were now. An arms race had begun, and it seemed that somehow Uzumaki Naruto was involved with the vigilantes. But the winner of this race was not determined by who had more weapons and jutsu at their disposal; it was decided by whichever organization could get to the other Jinchūriki first.

As he pulled open the drawer, he smiled under his mask as he found the knife he'd been offered by the dark voice. He had no intention of committing seppuku with its flame-like tines just yet, but just the sight of it reassured him that the option was always there when needed.

 _This knife already belongs to you._

As he spun the knife around on its hilt, Tobi could not help but think that a wave was coming, and that nobody could stop it. "Welcome to the new age."

* * *

 _I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones,_

 _Enough to make my system blow!_

 _Welcome to the new age, to the new age!_

 _Welcome to the new age, to the new age!_

 _I'm radioactive! Radioactive!_

 _I'm radioactive! Radioactive!_

* * *

 _ **A/N: And we're done! Last chapter of 2015. Hopefully, I haven't disappointed. In any case, please leave a review, and keep it classy people!**_

* * *

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **None yet**_

* * *

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **End song excerpt: "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons**_


	7. Revelation

_**A/N: A non-action chapter, I'm afraid. But still, I plan for there to be action in the future. Either way, do read and review, would you kindly?**_

* * *

[Unknown location]

There was nothing but darkness all around.

Although Sayuri knew she was standing on solid ground in a pillar of light, something seemed odd about this place. All around her, torches that surrounded the area lit themselves with vile green flames. As frightening as this was, it gave her a better idea of her surroundings. She was standing on a solid platform in a pool of water, with pillars of stone at each corner. Her location gave her the impression of an ancient temple devoted to some evil god, as she could see deep cracks in the pillars and the floor.

 _Either that, or I'm being given a preview of what it's like in Hell._ she thought to herself wryly. The very environment she stood in also looked like a tomb of some kind, and the decor and the sickly green lighting would not be out-of-place in a haunted gravesite.

She could hear liquids splashing around as something seemed to step into the area. Bestial hisses and growls could be heard in the darkness, while the lights started to intensify. The haunting sound of wind blowing through the air, interspersed with a low, but chilling screech. Whatever it was that was coming was starting to bring up the fear in her. Sayuri reached to her side only to find, much to her horror, that her sword was nowhere to be found.

The lights had suddenly and finally intensified to the point that she could now see what it was that surrounded her; and what she saw terrified her to no end, as a horde of monsters appeared before her from the darkness. Their stances had minimal fidgeting, allowing patience to rule their actions as the sickly green light revealed their vast numbers to her from all sides. There was no point in evasion, not with the variety of creatures coming in. Add to the fact that these insect-like humanoids were all armored in thick plates of what she assumed to be organic chitin, and she knew that there was no escape. It did not help her nerves that their faces were reminiscent of mummified corpses from Sunagakure she'd once seen in history books.

At the forefront of the parade of monsters were gangly, skeletal creatures with pale exoskeletons. Their domed heads were devoid of any eyes, and they let out a feral shriek with every breath. Their hands consisted of two digits and opposable thumbs, all of which were tipped in razor-sharp claws. Overall, these 'skeletons' seemed very frail, their exoskeletons appeared thin and brittle to offset their obvious strength in ferocity and numbers.

Next up were creatures with three glowing green eyes with thicker armor than the skeletons. Each wore what looked like a helmet with wings at the sides of their skull-shaped faces that gave her the impression of arrows. They all wielded organic-looking weapons made of what looked like bone in one hand, and the only article of clothing they wore was a loincloth that dropped close to their armor-plated calves. The 'soldiers' were not as numerous as the skeletons, but they had a little more flesh exposed and seemed a bit stronger.

Standing tall over the soldiers and the skeletons were large 'warriors' with three glowing eyes, and massive tri-tipped helmets that resembled a crown. Each was more heavily armored than a soldier, and either carried a bigger version of the soldiers' weapon or a man-sized bone sword that made Sayuri think of meat cleavers wielded by butchers. It was apparent from their similarity that the soldiers could eventually be promoted to warriors. She had no doubt that these hulking masses of hard chitin and steely muscle would be right at home, commanding droves of skeletons and soldiers to attack a village or even a city.

Flying overhead were figures with decidedly effeminate features in tattered robes, that looked down upon her from above the undead 'ghosts' wore triangular helmets that seemed to point downward, hiding their eyes while exposing their mouths. Their fleshy, three-fingered hands were clasped together, as they let out a soft, but chilling shriek; and as Sayuri listened in closely, she could've sworn that those things were singing in some evil language that was harsh to her ears. It was a hauntingly beautiful song, one that seemed to make her fearful of her life.

Far in the back, Sayuri could make out the massive forms of hulking 'behemoths' that stood taller than even the warriors. Each gigantic monster was covered in far more armor than any other creature in this gathering, and each had a tumorous growth sprouting from their skulls. It was obvious that they could deal damage with their arms alone, and the rumbling growls that suggested that there was not much in the way of intelligence in that mass of chitin and muscle.

Whatever thoughts Sayuri had on mind were cut off as soon as she saw the creatures kneeling before her, as though she were their king, or god, or something. Meanwhile, the ghosts remained in the air, continuing to sing in their evil-sounding, unintelligible language as though in prayer. What they were praying for, she had no idea; but whatever it was they were saying in that language did not sound good. It was as though they were casting some kind of dark spell.

Her attention was immediately drawn to the two warriors that appeared out of nowhere, flanking her on both sides as one of the ghosts glided towards her. Before Sayuri could even stand up to run, the two warriors kicked her quickly behind the knees while grabbing her roughly by the shoulders and pinning her down by her calves. The warrior to the right knelt while pulling her back by her spiky black hair, bending her backwards and exposing her chest to the ghost that floated towards her. The creature wore a large, triangular helmet that concealed its face, and in one of its hands was a dagger with a twisted, leathery grip that ended in a spiked pommel.

A closer look at the dagger revealed more details: it had a short, double-edged blade that terminated abruptly into a very deadly point. The hilt had two rectangular wings that pointed upwards and were joined in the middle by a round shape with three small green jewels inset into a triangle that pointed up towards the tip, and what looked like teeth and a jaw carved into the bottom. The whole thing looked like it was made of bone and flesh, and the bone blade looked like it was secured more tightly to the hilt with what looked like muscle fibers.

The ghost raised the dagger, ready to stab into her before it finally spoke: its voice a very sibilant, and effeminate hiss as it spoke in a language she clearly understood. "Take your new shape!"

Sayuri screamed as she bolted upright, panting as she scanned her surroundings. She was in her cabin, with Sakura looking towards her with equal parts confusion and shock. "What the hell is up with you?"

As she calmed down, Sayuri massaged her forehead. "Nothing. Just a…" her train of thought was interrupted when her hand brushed against a leathery surface. She looked down with her eyes, and found, to her shock, the bone dagger that was going to be stabbed into her. "…Just a nightmare."

Sakura let out a frustrated sigh as she fell back into bed. "Well go back to sleep; we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

She was right; they would be busy tomorrow, trying to catch up to the vigilantes. The one person they could ask about the incident would be the Rebel leader, and she was likely going to be rather busy helping with the rebuilding of Kirigakure. Team Kakashi was a few days behind the vigilante, and the only lead on where he went was a Terumī Mei.

But as Sayuri went back to sleep, she could not help but wonder as to how this knife ended up from her dream, and in her possession. She had a bad feeling about it, and she would get her answers later.

* * *

[Kirigakure, several days after the attack]

The village of Kirigakure no Sato was undergoing repairs, as battle scars from the vigilantes storming the gates were being patched up. Everywhere they could see, tiny holes were being covered over with plaster while wooden structures were totally replaced. Thankfully, no national monuments were in the vigilantes' path save the Mizukage tower. There was no doubt in Team Kakashi's mind that they'd just missed their target by a few days. After all, they received word that the fight took place no more than a week ago; coupled with the rush they were in when they heard, as well as the fact that they were able to find a boat to take them here, and it was no surprise that they were too late. Then again, they now had a better tip as to where the vigilante went…and rumor had it, there was more than one vigilante had attacked the village.

As the three of them walked down the bloodstained streets of Kirigakure, they could not help but wonder what kind of battle had taken place; what kind of army the loyalists squared off against. However, as it took place in this village, the rumor-mill had a lot of eye witnesses to corroborate the fact that there were multiple vigilantes. Some exaggerated the number, and said that the village was attacked by three vigilantes; more skeptical people came up with a more plausible number of hundreds. Unsurprisingly, there were mixed opinions about the vigilantes.

"I heard that there were three of them."

"Nah, no way! There had to be hundreds!"

"No, I had a buddy in the rebels that said that there were three of them."

"Are you freaking kidding me? Three vigilantes wiped out a little more than half ?!"

"Well, I do appreciate that they got rid of that horrid excuse of a Mizukage. Anybody that carries a monster inside them has to be a monster themselves!"

"Right or wrong, they still took a Mizukage away. Why Mei-sama let them go, I have no idea."

"Hey, if those killers want a Jinchūriki that badly? Fine by me! At least that inhuman monster is out of our hair. Us _**NORMAL**_ people have to stick together."

Kakashi simply fired the evil eye in the direction of the civilians. Those people just did not realize that losing their Jinchūriki meant that they would be more likely to be attacked by bandits. The very existence of one was practically a deterrent, also to enemy shinobi should a war come. It also just so happened that Naruto was a Jinchūriki himself, and to hear these ignorant people saying those words was the same as slandering him. Angry as he was, he

Either way, they had to go and get information on the vigilantes. And the best source of information would come from the rebel leader herself. Directions were given towards her location, which just so happened to be what remained of the Mizukage tower. As the three of them walked through the halls of the office, Sayuri and Sakura could only imagine as to the carnage wrought upon the loyalists as the vigilantes stormed the village. This was obviously a last stand for the last Mizukage.

There were voices coming out from a hallway, as three people were discussing something. It wasn't until Team Kakashi had moved in closer that they managed to catch the back end of the conversation. "What are we going to do with the stragglers?"

"I agree with Aoi on this one, we can't just let the survivors continue as they are."

"True, but we have to consider that not all of the Loyalists joined Yagura willingly," answered a feminine voice, "Therefore, we're going to try them all in court. We need to get a list of names, and their crimes; if the crimes committed are neither numerous nor heinous, then we can accept them with welcome arms. If they're guilty, then there's no need to ask."

The discussion was ended when an auburn-haired beauty sitting at a folded table with two men spotted them. She let out a sigh before beckoning them to come on in. "Looks like you Konoha shinobi have caused me no end of trouble. Especially with that cutie with the leather overcoat."

"Terumī Mei," acknowledged Kakashi, "We came here as soon as we heard of a vigilante attack on your village. Our Hokage has given us orders to hunt down a vigilante wearing a Konoha hitai-ate, and bring him home for questioning. Whatever help you can give us to point us in the right direction would be helpful; just give us the information on what happened, and we'll be out of your hair."

Mei reclined in her chair, as she watched the three of them settle down. "Where do you want to start?"

In response, Kakashi pulled out a voice recorder, and turned it on before setting it on the table. "I've heard a lot of accounts, so let's start with the vigilantes; how many of them were there, and what did they look like?"

"There were only three of them; two of them were obviously women that wore a hood and light armor, and the third was a boy in a leather greatcoat with a Konoha hitai-ate on his left upper-arm." began Mei, "They also had weapons the likes I'd never seen before, and rode on vehicles that sped over open ground about as fast as a shinobi hopping through trees."

"What can you tell me about the battle?"

"Depends on what part of the battle you're talking about." responded Mei, "If you're talking about the moments immediately after they stormed the walls. After that, I can't tell you much that isn't hearsay; there were a lot of witnesses saw that them resurrecting each other as they blew through multiple shinobi with those weapons of theirs. That being said, the Loyalists suffered a casualty rate of about 45% of their number by the time they got to the Mizukage tower.

"On the other hand, if you're talking about the confrontation with Yagura, then I can very well tell you what I saw."

"What happened?"

Mei sighed as she began to recount what she saw that day. "Yagura and the three vigilantes started their fight here in this very office. After Yagura took the fight out into the streets, one of them stayed behind and summoned a small machine to 'scan' everything in the room. The one who stayed behind told us not to bother trying to catch them, and that they're everywhere. She said that they were 'Guardians' and that they were fighting to make the world a better place."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi raised his eyebrow in curiosity. "I'm sorry, 'Guardians?' Guardians of what?"

"I have no idea, I didn't get a chance to ask because that Guardian jumped out the window to join her companions. After that, they started hunting for Yagura; eventually, he surprised one of them, and began to fight back. When he called upon his Bijū powers to fight back, we thought they'd be screwed; until we saw one of them giving off a red chakra that formed into nine streams of energy."

Kakashi did a double-take as his eye had widened in shock. "Red chakra? Nine streams of energy…? You don't suppose…?"

"Yes. I believe one of the Guardians was the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi."

Sayuri and Sakura had widened their eyes at that admission. Among the things that Tsunade had revealed about Naruto, this was the biggest secret of all for everyone in their generation. It was a secret that adults were told to never tell their own children; Sarutobi Hiruzen had done that in hopes that Naruto would at least have a sense of normalcy in his life, but human prejudices threw a wrench in his plan. The fact that Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage, had sealed the Kyūbi no Yoko into his own son was revealed to the public as well…and after that came the people who regretted what they'd done.

The idea that one of the Guardians was a Jinchūriki, was an unsettling prospect. Especially in the case of Kakashi, considering what happened to Nohara Rin…the fact that these vigilantes now had another Jinchūriki made his fears even more profound. Whatever they planned to do with Yagura, even if they meant well, did not bode well if they didn't know what they were doing. Though the fact that one of them was a Jinchūriki now threw that in the wind, it begged the question as to what the future would be like now that the Guardians were on the rise. "What happened after the Guardian began using his or her Bijū power?"

"The three Guardians managed to beat down the _honorable_ Mizukage, but the one in the greatcoat finished him off by using Raiton to electrocute him into a coma," continued Mei, letting out a sigh, "After that, we confronted them, telling them that Yagura had to stand trial for what he did."

"What did they say?"

* * *

[Kirigakure, a few days ago]

 _"Before you do, I would recommend you put that body down." said the voice of Mei, landing with a number of rebels nearby. "We have to put Yagura on trial for his crimes."_

The Guardian in the greatcoat and his two companions turned to face them, their helmets making it hard to determine their intent. He stepped forward, Yagura still hefted over his shoulder to make it clear that he was speaking. "You seem like a fair person, but you and I both know that a trial is not going to go so well for him." he said, his tone without a hint of malice. "There are people here who would like to see him executed; not for the things he did as Mizukage, but for being a Jinchūriki. You let him go to trial, and he'll be put through a kangaroo court before being sent to the executioner's block. And when that happens, those dipshits you call citizens will regret it the second the Sanbi no Kyodaigame reincarnates and start smashing up your home."

"And letting you have him is a better idea?" snarked back Mei.

"If you consider that Akatsuki is after the Bijū too, then yeah; he's better off with us." answered the Guardian. "And believe me: those guys are not the kind you want to take your Bijū. We've got reliable intelligence that they're planning something big with the Bijū; and from what we've picked up on their recent activities, I doubt it's for anything good."

"How do we know you're not here to mislead us?" questioned Aoi, causing Mei's mood to darken. "How do we know _you're_ not really with the Akatsuki?"

The Guardian turned to face Aoi. "You obviously don't know them well. We could have mowed down your Rebel army _and_ the Loyalists just to get to Yagura, but chose to fight on your behalf. From the patterns we've seen of their activities, and their current roster, Akatsuki is made up of all nuke-nin from different villages; if they _were_ behind us, they would've just sent Hoshigaki Kisame and Uchiha Itachi to your village. _We_ are the ones fighting _against_ Akatsuki… _we_ know our enemy better than you."

"And what guarantee do we have that you're just as honorable? You…"

"Aoi," interrupted Mei, draping herself over Aoi while huskily whispering into his ear. "Shut the hell up before I kill you." Once she was done scaring her subordinate into silence, Mei turned to the Guardians. "But he still has a point. How do we know your intentions are just as honorable?"

"You're alive, aren't you?" asked the Guardian. "Though seriously, I don't know what it will take to convince you that the Guardians are not your enemy, or the other Shinobi Nations for that matter. But I will say this: when I make a promise, I keep it…that was my nindō when I was a shinobi, and it still guides my path. As long as you don't ask for our weapons or technology or ask us to betray the Guardians, I will do whatever it takes to prove to you that we're not your enemy."

* * *

 **[Present time]**

"…after that, I made a deal with him and let him go," finished Mei. "Once the deal was made, three flying machines flew in from out of nowhere and reverse-summoned the three Guardians into them before getting the hell out of here with Yagura."

All of Team Kakashi could only widen their eyes at what Terumī Mei, leader of the Bloodline Rebels had recounted to them. The willingness to go through hell and high water to keep a promise, a desire to protect those he saw as his family, the mention of a nindō; those were things that seemed to hint at that Guardian's identity. But that was impossible, as that person was dead; Sayuri herself had confirmed his death herself.

She remembered that day well; how she and Uzumaki Naruto had confronted each other at the Valley of the End. Naruto had tried to convince her to come home, tried to bring her back to the village with the promise that there are people that sincerely care about her. Sayuri's response instead was for him to join her in defecting to Otogakure, trying to bring him in with the promise that he would get stronger faster under Orochimaru's teaching. The argument continued to get heated until Naruto declared that he would bring her back home alive by any means necessary.

At the end of the ensuing fight, Naruto was blasted off into the river; Sayuri felt the adrenaline rush as she ran as fast as she could to pull him out of the water. She almost had him, but wound up being forced to watch as his unconscious body went over the waterfall. Whatever energy she had left, she spent getting to the bottom in hopes of taking him (hopefully alive) with her to Otogakure; those hopes died when she saw his body, impaled on a large, sharp rock.

That moment broke her, causing her to whimper apologies to him. A moment's thought on what to do made her decide against bringing him with her this time. Sayuri guessed that if Orochimaru ever got his hands on Naruto's body, he might do unspeakable things to him. And as much as she wanted to go pull his body off the spike to at least give him a proper burial, there were a lot of sharp, spiky rocks along the way that would likely have sliced through her sandals and possibly killed her too. There was nothing she could do for him, except mourn as she ran from the area…Orochimaru was likely to do much worse things if she did not keep her appointment with him, given his track record.

To hear the possibility that Naruto was alive again somehow, seemed to bring her hopes up…that she could finally repent for her own crimes against him…to tell him that…no, she didn't deserve that. After what she did to him, she wouldn't be surprised if he was furious for his murder. And even if her own thoughts on the matter were genuine, there was no guarantee that this 'Guardian' was Naruto. Still, it didn't mean that the idea of redemption was off the table.

"So what did you ask of him, in exchange for letting him go?" asked Kakashi, finally breaking the silence.

"That he would accompany us as a bodyguard should a Kage Summit be held." answered Mei. "He said he'd do me a better offer; he'd get as many Guardians as he can to that Summit as a show of goodwill."

Kakashi snorted. "Then you probably needn't worry about dishonorable conduct. If he says he'll get as many Guardians he can to the Summit, expect him to do his damnedest to get those Guardians."

Mei did a double-take upon hearing what Kakashi had just said. "You know him?"

"The way you talked about him made me think of someone I know; but I won't know for sure until we confront him ourselves," admitted Kakashi, "But either way, if that Guardian is who I think it is, then he'll go through hell and high water to keep that promise."

"Where did they go?" asked Sayuri.

"They flew to the southwest, towards the mainland." answered Mei, "I don't know what's out there, save for a few minor villages, and maybe Tsuchi no Kuni. But if I had to hazard a guess, wherever they're going, that's where the Guardians have made their home base."

* * *

[Naruto's Jumpship]

Hinata watched as Naruto piloted the flying machine with a determined sort of focus. The 'jumpship' was apparently a highly advanced and fairly intelligent transport that could theoretically fly itself. Her 'ghost' likened it to a big, flying horse; and the description was fairly apt. Naruto's operation of the craft was like he was one with the jumpship, much like the samurai horse-archers of yore. And it just so happened that they were being followed by two others similar to this one.

However, when she saw him bring in a stranger to the vehicle so suddenly, she wondered what was going on. The silence was getting to her, and the way Naruto had tied down the stranger to the cot opposite hers told her that he was dangerous. She needed answers, and the best way to get them was in the 'cockpit' where Naruto was flying the aircraft.

As she took tentative steps towards the cockpit, Hinata noted that the flight was very stable; not even a small vibration, due in part to the fact that the 'brain' of the jumpship was smart enough to know how to pick up its pilot without having to land. Though she still had to be careful not to startle Naruto, as a sudden move might throw them all in a spin…and she had no intention of getting motion sickness all because she spooked him. Her musings had taken her just a few steps outside the location she wanted to be. There were two doors that led to the cockpit of the jumpship, she might as well announce herself before she walked in.

"N-Naruto-kun!" she called out from behind, "I…I…I'm coming in right now."

"Go ahead, Hinata-chan," he called back.

She stepped into the cockpit, and watched as Naruto turned his attention to her briefly after pressing a few buttons and flicking some switches. As he looked up from the seat, she was treated to a face she never thought she'd ever see again. Granted, she'd already seen him under the helmet before she felt the reflexive urge to faint, but it was a sight she'd always missed. "What'd you want to talk about?" he asked, turning his attention back to the screen.

"I…I…was wondering where we're going now."

"We're heading for Nami no Kuni," answered Naruto, "Ever since I went there to bring people to life to become Guardians, it's become a meeting place for us all. Once we're there, we'll get you ready for being a Guardian."

"What about the person you tied down…who is he?"

"That would be the Mizukage," answered Naruto, "Me and two other guardians went to Kirigakure, and beat him down. The Rebel leader let us get away with him."

Hinata was gobsmacked by his admission of the person's identity. Kidnapping a Kage? That was unheard of! Even she wouldn't have… "Before you ask, it was better this way." Naruto interrupted, "If we let him continue on as he was, then our enemies would have gotten to him first; that and he was killing his own people, so it was kind of a win-win solution. The reason we're going to Nami no Kuni is so that we can take out his Bijū before we decide what to do with him."

"Take out his Bijū? But won't that…"

"Dead or alive, we can make anyone into a Guardian," answered Naruto, "As long as we have a Ghost on hand, we can bring him back. But that all depends on whether we should spare him or not. He has a lot of blood on his hands, most of it from people who were killed only because they had a kekkei genkai; but according to what I've read of his profile, he wasn't like this before. Once we get to Nami no Kuni, we're going to find out what happened to him before we make him into a Guardian."

The idea that the boy she'd seen Naruto tie up was a murderous psychopath was unthinkable. But still, she had a lot to learn when it comes to being a Guardian. Her thoughts were interrupted as soon as she felt the jumpship tilting downwards. "We're almost there."

{Play: "Good Luck" by Basement Jaxx, from "Appleseed"}

From the screen, she could see an island connected to the mainland by a bridge. A good distance away, she could see a construction project underway; it seemed that a tower was being built. What for, Hinata could only guess, but she had a feeling that this was where Guardians would be gathering in earnest. However, what she was focused on was how much the village in Nami no Kuni started to modernize. It was no surprise, given that she'd heard that trade was booming as the island nation's main export of fish was once again becoming a hot commodity. That, and a man named Tazuna began sending more people out from his island to work on various construction projects. "Welcome to Nami no Kuni, Hinata-chan."

As they neared the ground, Naruto went to the sedated form of Yagura, and unclipped him from the cot before hefting him over the shoulder in a fireman's carry. Hinata was not too far from him before the two of them were bathed in a blue light.

When the light cleared, Hinata saw that she and Naruto were on the ground level; which meant that they were on a beach, with two other people standing nearby. Both of them wore hoods; one of them had pale skin and midnight-colored hair that gave her the impression of the infamous Yuki-onna. The other was a black and gold mechanical creature with a horn on the forehead, and what looked like ears that streamlined backwards, and glowing red eyes. They also had a decidedly feminine form about them.

People were walking around, minding their own business. However, what made this place stand out was the fact that among the natives of this island, she could make out Guardians walking among them; some of them with their helmets off. Some of them wore fanciful greatcoats like Naruto; others were like her, in that they were dressed in heavy armor over rubberized suits with what looked like a large flag or small banners tied to their waist. She even noted that there were some Guardians that had hoods over their heads. It was as though she stepped into a whole new world.

They were met at the area by a guardian in heavy armor. He didn't wear a helmet, so she could see his face; his skin was of a healthy tan, and his broom-like hair was of a dark charcoal gray. He had a cross-shaped scar on his chin, kind eyes and a warm smile. Apart from that, he wore a craftsman's headband around his head. She could feel the prickle of electricity emanating from his body as she neared him; it was not as strong as Naruto's but it was still noticeable. "Naruto, good to see you!" he called out, raising his hand.

Naruto raised his free hand to meet the man in the middle, the two of them performing a high-five. "Kaiza! How's life been treating you?"

"Pretty good, actually." answered the man named Kaiza. "Ever since you brought me back from the dead, I found my calling. Now I'm using these fists to help protect this land that I love…and thanks to you, I was able to get back in a relationship with Tsunami."

"Nice." Naruto replied. "About time you two got back together."

Hinata silently summoned her ghost, and whispered. "Who is that?"

"That would be Kaiza; a man who was killed trying to stand up to Gato." answered her Ghost, "I heard he was also one of the first Guardians Naruto brought back from the dead."

It wasn't long until Kaiza's gaze had turned to the person slung over Naruto's shoulder. "That him?"

"Yeah."

"What's gonna happen?"

"We're gonna find out as soon as we get to the office."

Kaiza sighed. "I'm not gonna judge you or anything, but I hope that you make the right choice with him; whatever it is."

"With any luck, we can have him as a Guardian." answered Naruto, "But that all depends on what Haku found in his office."

"If that's the case, then make sure you study those files thoroughly; me, I've got to make my rounds." Kaiza turned to leave, waving his hand. "Catch you later, Naruto!"

"Be careful out there, Kaiza." said Naruto, walking by. They had a bit of a discussion on their hands where Yagura was concerned.

* * *

[Unknown Location]

 _You are Uchiha Sayuri…the last Uchiha of Konohagakure no Sato._

 _Your blood is pure, and your power is strong. With your mighty Sharingan, you can take the power of your enemy and use it for yourself. You are a prodigy; your talent goes beyond what you can already do…and what you do not have, you can always steal for yourself. But even greater than the talent you have is your own potential for greatness._

 _You have been taken._

 _Be at ease. Nobody is watching. Not even the Hokage herself can tell what is going on. You are safe here; safe from prying eyes; safe from that seal array designed to kill you explosively._

 _What pain motivates you? Why do you endure? What promise of redemption guides your heart?_

 _You've lost much, and have chosen to pay a great price for your revenge._

 _Even now, your brother's betrayal burns you so badly that it beats out the pain you endured while training in your clan's signature Jutsu. You have paid a great price for strength to get revenge. Day in and day out, you pay to have the strength to one day have all your desires sated with your own two hands._

 _But, as you have just learned, there are prices too high to pay._

 _In your quest for vengeance, you rediscovered love. Your face didn't show it, but your heart fluttered when you saw kindred spirit; you felt the urge to hold him in your arms and melt all the pain away._

 _In the end, you found that you wanted both. You thought that one day, after you have had your revenge, you could pursue that love and keep it to yourself…to ensure nobody takes it away from you. There is nothing wrong with that; for what is life, without a modicum of greed? So long as you are willing to pay for it, you will do whatever it takes to have both._

 _Sadly, the decision was taken out of your hands. HE fought you. HE refused your offer of strength. HE refused to come with you. And at the end of the day, HE made you kill him._

 _Now you hear the possibility that HE lives again._

 _Life has cheated you; cheated you of everything you've worked so hard for. Cheated you of your hard-earned payment. Cheated you of HIM._

 _You must be compensated; after all, it is your due. You must convert as many to your cause as you can, so that you can no longer be alone._

 _There is a knife for you. It is shaped like [you shall be mine]._

 _Take up the knife, drive it into your heart. Take your new shape._

* * *

[On a ship, en route to the Mainland]

The door to the cabin opened, as Sakura walked into a scene that was horrifying and confusing beyond all reason; kneeling on the floor in such a way that her back was arched was Uchiha Sayuri. She had a dagger in her chest, penetrating her sternum and stabbing into her heart. From how long it took to find her, she must have been dead at least a few minutes before she found the body.

There was only one thing she could do.

She screamed.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Oh no…this can't be good. Looks like Sayuri has been Taken. Whatever can this mean?**_

 _ **Anyway, a non-action chapter for now. Hopefully, this builds up tension. As to what I plan to do with Isobu after he is extracted from Yagura, I will leave that as a surprise.**_

 _ **But in any case, do review would you kindly? And please keep it classy. In the meantime though, I will show you what I am thinking of for the future…**_

* * *

 _ **Preview:**_

 _Deidara smirked as he grabbed the Jinchūriki in midair. His escape was filled with ballista bolts, and massive anti-air shuriken, but it was still a quick getaway. As he neared the range at which the projectiles began to drop, he watched as something appeared right in front of his eyes._

 _It was a little black, metal ball with eight points surrounding it. It looked back at him with a square-shaped light for an eye. "I've got a message for you from my partner," it said, the square closing vertically like a blinking eye, "He said to give up the Kazekage, or else."_

 _He sneered at that. Nobody told Deidara the Mad Bomber what to do. "Yeah, well you can tell your partner to 'fuck off!'"_

 _There was no answer from the ball. For a few seconds, there was nothing but silence. "He thought you'd say that. He also said that if that's the case, don't say we didn't warn you."_

 _Before long, Deidara heard a loud whine from behind him; he couldn't believe what he was seeing._

* * *

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **The dagger—the hilt is in the shape of Oryx's head.**_


	8. Awakening

_**A/N: Finally, a new chapter done. I will have to apologize, there will be no action here…but I guarantee you, there will be action in the future. In any case, I do apologize for any lack of quality, but do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

* * *

[Nami no Kuni]

Save for the sound of the Ghost at work with extracting the Bijū from Yagura's unconscious body, there was not a sound. It was actually the first time Naruto had seen this being done; being dead before, had deprived him of the experience. What he _did_ know was that the extraction resulted in the Bijū being pulled out of its host's body in its entirety, and being stored inside a device that the Ghost kept inside its chassis. It was hard for him to believe that such a small object was capable of holding such a massive amount of chakra. Still, it was something that warranted him pulling out his necklace from under his jacket, causing him to finger the green jewel that dangled from the string.

It was also a first for him to witness a Guardian being awakened, with a corpse still intact, while Hinata stood next to him watching in wonder as to what was going on. She wondered how she was brought back to life herself, when she'd been dead for over a year. She watched as the Ghost was hard at work, siphoning the chakra from Yagura's sedated body. The whole process had been going on for about four and a half minutes now.

"The extraction is done," answered the Ghost, finally absorbing the last of the Bijū chakra from Yagura's body. "All that's left now is to create the hardware…"

The Ghost turned towards a table, and emitted a bluish cone of light that began to take shape. It was a small, flat, rectangular shape with beveled corners and a large, circular hole in the center. One could make out a glowing, glass-like material that lined the rim within the hole, as well as teal lights that seemed to be firing off inside the glass empty space. There were bits of gold on one end of the device, and on the opposite side was a tab for holding

Hinata activated her Byakugan, and found that she was almost blinded from focusing on the item's chakra signature, forcing her to turn it back off. How was such a small thing capable of giving out such a bright light? When she looked at the former Bijū Kurama through her Byakugan, the light was confined to lighting up the gaps in her armored body. "What is that?"

"That's a data crystal chip," answered the Ghost, turning its attention back to Yagura as Hinata picked up the item gingerly to inspect it. "It's a device used to contain a large amount of information in a small package. In this case, it's being used to transport and store a Bijū; however, unlike a regular chip that would just be used to store information, whatever machine we put the chip into will be under the command of the Bijū."

"What are we going to do with it?"

"There's plenty of things we could do with it…but right now, I have something more important to do."

"You two should get going," said Kurama, catching Naruto's attention as the Ghost went to work. "After all, someone has to help get Hinata her stuff for being a Guardian."

Naruto was about to say something when Haku silenced him with a gentle tap to the lips. "Kurama is right; someone has to show Hinata around the construction site should she need better gear."

He looked to Hinata, practically beating himself up for forgetting about her. Naruto let out a sigh. "You don't have to worry," answered the Ghost, focusing more blue light upon Yagura's now-dead body. "I've got this all recorded. I can play back to you Yagura's resurrection when I'm done."

* * *

[Konohagakure no Sato]

It was a very hectic few days for Tsunade, as she turned off the cassette player containing Kakashi's report. The disbelief was clear on her face as she'd listened to the report over and over to ensure that she wasn't missing anything.

All around the world, news had spread about the 'vigilantes' (they called themselves 'Guardians' according to the report) storming a Hidden Village, killing a little over half their shinobi and taking their kage away. Said kage was also a Jinchūriki, which made the news even more unbelievable…especially when only three individuals were seen taking him on. Granted, they all had advanced weapons and abilities the likes of which nobody had ever seen before, but it was still an impressive feat all things considered. It was so big an event that it just could no longer be contained on Kirigakure no Sato proper.

Kakashi's voice-recorded copy of the transcript was what made it even more unbelievable for her, because it seemed that one of the vigilantes was the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yoko. According to Terumī Mei, one of the Guardians had summoned forth what could only be Bijū chakra, and used that to create nine purple spheres. Those spheres were used to create arrows that were fired in rapid succession at the Mizukage, slowing him down for some reason. After that, the Guardians moved in and finished the job.

Terumī had stated that she confronted the Guardians, and asked them to release Yagura into their custody so that they could put him on trial. One of them stepped up front and had words with the Rebel leadership. Long story short, they were fighting the Akatsuki through their vigilante actions; and in order to secure safe passage with Yagura in tow, the Guardian with the Konoha hitai-ate promised that there would be Guardians present should a Kage Summit be held at any time in the future.

One of the big notes that Kakashi had highlighted was his thought on the possibility that Naruto was one of the Guardians. Judging by how Terumī remembered word-for-word what that Guardian said, and by the way it sounded, Tsunade was almost inclined to back him on the idea. The very idea that Naruto could be alive, and working with the Guardians brought her hopes up.

 _Is that really you, gaki?_ she thought to herself. _Perhaps…_

…No, she dared not entertain the possibility, lest she fall hard from dashed hopes. Even if that Guardian _was_ Naruto, and they were able to bring him home, there was no telling what the reception awaiting him would be. Not to mention the fact that they would have to question him as soon as they brought him in.

But either way, Kakashi had his mission. Come hell or high water, they would bring back this Guardian with the Konoha hitai-ate so that they could interrogate him. _He and Sakura will track down these 'Guardians', and question them all if they have to. I don't think they'll stop until they are on his trail, and I doubt they're going to come home empty-handed._

Reassuring herself of the fact that Kakashi and Sakura would make sure to get the job done, Tsunade pulled out a bottle of sake she'd kept stashed away. She needed it right now, because the other thing on her mind was the apparent suicide of one Uchiha Sayuri. There were no words for that outrage, apart from the thought that she saw it coming. _Though that really makes me wonder,_ she thought, trying to piece together this new mystery, _Inoichi himself said that Sayuri was troubled because she killed Naruto, but nowhere in that report stated that she was the type to commit suicide; what could have driven her over the brink? Why kill herself, when there's a possible chance at redemption?_

Uchiha Sayuri was found dead on the ship bound for the mainland by Sakura with a dagger penetrating her sternum, and her heart. Kakashi had reported that she was acting strangely after hearing the possibility that Naruto was still alive, but he didn't see any definite indication that she was going to take her own life. _Was she too eaten up with guilt to face Naruto or something? Because if there was a chance to patch things up, no matter how small, I'd still find the will to live._

Regardless of her thoughts on the matter, Tsunade heaved a very exasperated sigh. She knew that a shitstorm was going to come soon, because there were quite a few staunch pro-Uchiha in the masses that still had a more than healthy hatred for Naruto. There was no doubt in her mind that they'd very likely form a mob going out to defile Naruto's tombstone; pissing away at his empty grave, claiming that he was responsible for her suicide. _If those assholes think they can get away with doing that, they're sorely mistaken. They can beg all they want for permission, but I will never let them defile anybody's grave; least of all,_ his.

Kakashi had already sent back a request for her to send some people over to the docks to pick up Sayuri's body so that an autopsy could be performed. _And I can see why. I too want to know what was the cause behind her suicide. The girl killed almost all the other convicts in the jail with her in self-defense, which is a pretty strong desire to live for someone that wants to die. Why end it all when there's even a slight chance of being able to set things right?_

Any other thoughts on her mind were cut short when she heard Shizune on the other side of the door. "Can I help you?"

"I am here to see the Hokage." came an aged voice she knew all too well.

"She's currently looking through files right now, if you could…"

"I want to see her _now_."

She could feel Shizune's resignation from behind the door. Tsunade could not blame her when the door opened, popping out gently. "Shimura Danzo has come to see you, Tsunade-sama."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Tsunade poured herself another cup of saké. _It had to happen someday._ she thought to herself. She'd need this to calm her nerves. "Let's get this over with; send him in."

Shizune nodded, opening the door to allow in a face that Tsunade prayed to whatever deity that was listening to never see again. Darkened, leathery skin and graying iron hair were the hallmarks of old age; combined with the aura of power gained from years of experience and you had a very powerful old man. Shimura Danzo was a veteran of quite a few conflicts (some of which she suspected he initiated), and it showed by how he was missing an arm and an eye, as well as by the x-shaped scar on his chin. Unsurprisingly, the crippled old war hawk had to get around with a cane. Like him or not, the war hawk almost never came to see the Hokage personally without reason. "What do you want, Danzo?"

"The status on the hunt for the vigilantes."

Tsunade had a catty smile on her face as she looked back at the stone-faced old man. "You're going to have to be really specific."

"It's childish to think you can play coy with me." answered Danzo. "You and I both know what I'm talking about…the vigilantes that stormed Kirigakure no Sato; the so-called 'Guardians.'"

"And why should I give you that information?" Tsunade teased, hoping to get more of a response from Danzo to see what he was doing in her office. The faux curiosity made it clear that she was reveling in the idea that the old war hawk was coming to her for help, though she was hoping he'd get angrier. "In fact, why would you even care? Unless…" She snapped her fingers in 'realization'. "…the Guardians have been killing your 'officially disbanded' ROOT operatives?"

There was silence on that subject, and Danzo had not changed from his stony-faced expression. Tsunade's façade broke ever-so-slightly when it was clear he was not going to rise to the bait…not an easy thing to do, especially after being caught red-handed. _Looks like I'm going to have to cut straight to the point._ "What do you want me to do about it?"

"I wish to have a copy of the reports you have been receiving from Hatake Kakashi," began Danzo. "And I wish to be there when they interrogate the Guardian."

"Reason?"

"I want to know exactly where they got the technology and the gall to do this to proper Konoha Shinobi."

"Excuse me, 'proper Konoha Shinobi?' Your ROOT cell is nothing more than a cabal of fanatics that at your beck and call. In my eyes, you're no different from the Guardians…actually, scratch that; the Guardians look to be _better_ than your toy soldiers, because _they_ are actually doing something about the Akatsuki, while you're here playing politics with me."

Whether Danzo was affected by that claim, he did precious little to show it. "Regardless, this is shaping up to be a three-way war in the shadows; and the best way to secure Konoha's future in this war is to give me what you have so far."

Tsunade let out a very frustrated sigh. As much as she hated to admit it, Danzo was right; while the Guardians had their sights on Akatsuki, they could very easily take their fight to the Shinobi Nations at any time. Once all the bandits and Akatsuki were dealt with, Konoha could also be in their sights.

What's worse was that only _three_ of them were enough to storm the walls at Kirigakure, and kill over half the Loyalist forces before taking the Mizukage away; the rest of them were unaccounted for. And she knew that there were more than just those three out there, because Jiraiya's spy network kept on sending in reports of Guardians in the middle of vigilante activities. Tsunade could only shudder at the thought of possibly six of them showing up at the doorstep of one of the other Hidden Villages; in fact, she had a feeling that their true numbers were enough to thoroughly conquer Konoha a hundred times over and still have time to do the same to the others within a year.

"I realize the improbability that you would freely share the information with me," said Danzo, bringing Tsunade out of her thoughts as he pulled out a video tape from his robes, "which is why I'm offering you a video that one of my operatives has managed to capture, before fleeing the scene."

As she took the video tape in her hands, Tsunade could only wonder what it was that Danzo wanted her to see.

* * *

[Tower Construction Site, several hours later]

It was only moments after Naruto had departed the Shipwright's shop with her order, and Hinata was already being overwhelmed by the amount of activity that was going on. There were many gigantic machines operated by people she'd never seen before, all of which were hard at work stacking large, hollow, rectangular bricks on top of each other. She also spotted the odd Guardian walking around, helping out occasionally with their Ghost hovering over their shoulders to provide another helping hand. All in all, it was very busy as the tower was being around, as she was led around by Naruto to a set of stairs, Hinata could see everyone helping each other to build this thing up; a sight that made her happy.

"Normally, I'd take you elsewhere to speak to someone, but I want to help get you your first weapon so that you can get up on your feet real fast," said Naruto, "Besides, I need to show you around."

As she caught up with Naruto, Hinata reminded herself that she had a lot of questions for him. On the way to the construction site, Naruto had told her about his resurrection, and about the giant white sphere hovering over a small cluster of islands known as The Traveler. She was also told about his encounter with the Speaker on a completed tower that was much like this one, and how she charged him with bringing Guardians to the Shinobi Nations to help fight against something called The Darkness. She had no idea what it was, but The Darkness sounded like a great enemy

However, there was one thing that Hinata wanted to know above all else. Before she could ask what was on her mind, she noticed that Naruto came to a stop in front of a stall containing rack upon rack of what she assumed to be weapons. All of them looked like a collection of staves to her Byakugan-enhanced eyes, all of which were made up of metal tubes, complicated mechanisms, and were painted in a variety of colors. She knew them to be 'guns', as described to her by her Ghost, but this was the first time Hinata had seen them for herself.

"Where the hell are you!?" Naruto called out, "I've got a new customer for you!"

"Oi! Shut it you li'l git!" roared a voice from behind a curtain, "By all dat's good and 'oly, you 'ave a shitty voice!" It was pushed aside to reveal a man in his forties with a heavy underbite stomping out to meet them while smoking a large cigar. He was well-muscled for someone with a beer gut, and eyes were obscured by a large pair of reflective goggles. Overall, he gave the impression of a shaved gorilla with a greenish tinge to his singed skin, and one that worked as some kind of blacksmith if the apron were any indication.

The smith-gorilla took a look downwards, and noticed Hinata…his look softening a bit as he inspected her. "Well, well…looks like a new Guardian innit? Wot's yer name, pretty?"

"H-Hyūga Hinata," she said, bowing nervously in front of him.

"Name's Tork," said the man, "I'm da smiff wot makes guns for Guardians like dat idiot wiv ya."

"Like you're one to talk!" Naruto sniped back. "Anyway Tork, I'm here to help Hinata-chan get her hands on her first weapons."

Tork pulled his goggles up, revealing luminescent amber eyes that began sizing up Hinata. His hand was on his chin in thought, the 'hmm' he let out as he studied her only served to make her more nervous. Thankfully, he finally broke his studying gaze. "I know jus' da fings fer ya." he said, running to a rack, "Judgin' by wot I saw of you, yer prolly not da type dat wants yer targets to suffa, and you prolly would try talk yer enemies down first…which is why dis beauty will prolly suit you well."

Hinata watched as the large man reached up for a large gun with a long barrel. It had single piece of wood that merged the grip with the stock, and a metal carrying handle at the top; at the tip of the barrel was a large, cylindrical object that she figured was meant to make the shot travel faster and further, and closer to the stock was a large, rectangular disk. At the bottom of the gun was a large, flat box. On the opposite side, she could see a metal ball attached to a metal peg that was part of what she knew was a 'bolt action' from the information that her Ghost fed her.

"Dis beast is called No Land Beyond," said Tork, with no small amount of pride as he held the rifle in both hands, "Not a lot of dakka, an' a very difficult sniper rifle ta use, but it can prolly be used best by someone wiv eyes like yers."

Her hands automatically moved forward on their own as she picked up the large weapon from Tork's hands. It was not unreasonably heavy, but she could feel its weight as her muscle memory had her aiming the weapon into the air. Hinata's movements wound up finding the metal bolt, and going through the motions to load the weapon. Strangely enough, the reassuring weight of the weapon felt…right in her hands; like a friend she was finally reunited with.

"Do you have anything else for her to try?" asked Naruto.

"Nah, not yet; but take 'er 'round back so she try dat fing out good an' proper. But don' worry, I'll find 'er a secondary to complement it."

With that said, Tork led the two of them to a large, open space with a few Guardians standing in what amounted to open-space cubicles that went down a large hallway. At the other end, there were cardboard targets that were being peppered with shots by the weapons wielded by the other Guardians wanting to try out their new buys. It was understandable, as they needed to test out the quality of the weapon in question, as well as to see how it fit with them.

As soon as she arrived at her own cubicle, Hinata pulled out the No Land Beyond, and flipped the large metal disc down on its hinge. All she needed were the rings mounted on the muzzle of the weapon. She looked down the sights, and found her mark; instinct had directed her to grab the bolt, and pull it back before quickly reaching for the grip. Within the span of seven seconds (also taking the bolt-pulling into account),the trigger was pulled three times: the first shot obliterated the target's head, the next put a large hole in its chest where the heart would be, the third caused all the men in the area to wince as she shot the target in the groin.

Hinata turned as soon as she heard Naruto whistle, thoroughly impressed. "Nice shot."

In response, she blushed a very deep shade of red. "I-I-I don't understand…h-how can I do this?"

"Besides being able to bring you back from the dead, your Ghost feeds information into your head," began Naruto, "in this case, it's directions how to use that kind of gun. Before, I wouldn't have known how to do this…"

She watched as Naruto pulled out the hand cannon from his side, and twirled the weapon in his hand. It wasn't long until the target replaced itself that Naruto began firing. After the first trigger pull, his free hand worked really fast at pulling the hammer down. By the time he was done, eight shots were emptied into the target. In total, Hinata's trained eyes calculated that it took Naruto roughly seven seconds to draw the gun, steady his aim, then empty all eight shots into the target.

"You've a long ways ta go 'fore you can reach that level of dakka ya li'l git!"

Naruto rolled his eyes at the speaker. Tork had a small item in his large hands, which Hinata identified as a 'sidearm'. 'Dis fing ain't gonna pack as much punch as yer sniper rifle, and you ain't gonna get much reach from it; but it's light, and can fire as fas' as you can pull da trigger. A good weapon fer emergencies."

Hinata took the small weapon from his hands, and studied it. It was light, but its weight and balance felt right, and a button accessible to the thumb was pressed, releasing the the clip which she immediately caught. A look inside told her that there were 15 shots inside, further cementing its purpose as an emergency weapon. With a smooth and fluid motion, she was able to load the clip back into the handgun. All in all, it was capable of being used for offense, but was best used for defense.

"T-Thank-you T-T-Tork-san!" she said politely, bowing in gratitude to the larger man.

When he was satisfied with his new customer, Tork turned to Naruto. "You'd best watch dat girl, ya li'l git. She gets lost to da Darkness, Imma stomp ya flat!"

"No need, Tork; I'll make sure of it."

Satisfied with his answer, Tork went back to the shop.

"Looks like we've got some time before we have to go back," said Naruto, offering a hand to Hinata as she shouldered the No Land Beyond and holstered the sidearm. "Now we've got to get your Jumpship."

As she walked towards Naruto, Hinata knew that now was the time. If she didn't ask, she may never have the opportunity to do so again. "Uh…Naruto-kun, I-I-I have a question; if you've been b-b-brought back to l-li-life this whole time, w-why didn't you come home?"

Naruto continued to walk, slowly enough that Hinata was able to follow. "I did, after I brought Haku and Kaiza back to life," he began, "But by the time I got to Konoha after a mission to stop some bandits, I found out that Sayuri was found, captured, and thrown in jail. Then I also saw how people were saying my name without cursing me for being the Jinchūriki of the furball, and instead revering me over the fact that my dad sealed her into me. I guess I was confused; after being hated for much of my life, the thought that I was now being accepted was too much of a leap for me."

"D-d-didn't you think that you coming back from the dead would have made the other members of the Konoha Twelve happier?"

"I'm pretty sure it would've…then again, if I show myself to them now, I'm afraid it may do more harm than good."

"You'll never know until you do," said Hinata, in a moment of reassurance. As she spoke, Naruto looked at her with surprise on his whiskered face. "After you died, I thought life was over; until I realized that you wouldn't have liked me if I gave up on life. Imagine my surprise when I saw you; alive, kicking, and flying your ship. So many thoughts had flooded my mind when I saw your face, but I guess the strongest of them was happiness…that you were somehow alive again."

Naruto processed what she'd told him. "Huh, never thought I'd see this side of you, Hinata-chan…it actually makes me like you even more."

In response, Hinata squeaked as she blushed an even deeper shade of red. Whatever words she had on her mind were lost, as she tried to figure out what to say in response. As her mind came back to reality, she turned even redder as she realized what was going on.

"Hinata-chan? You okay?" asked Naruto, his face almost touching hers. It made her even more nervous knowing how close he was to her. Hinata was nervous as she tried to think of what to do in this situation. All thoughts were interrupted when she heard the sound of something appearing behind her, before feeling a hand pushing her into Naruto, toppling them both as her armored body fell upon him. Her mind blanked out when she realized that gravity had forced the both of them to kiss…in a manner not at all different from how Naruto and Sayuri both lost their first kisses.

Hinata could only be frozen in place; a number of emotions running through her mind at light speed as laughter filled the air. Feminine laughter. "Ah, kit! I didn't think you liked girls who were like that!"

"Kurama!" snapped Naruto, coming back to his senses. He glared at the Exo Bijū over Hinata's shoulder with equal parts embarrassment and anger.

"What?! She obviously wouldn't have made a move it weren't for me!"

Naruto rolled her off of him gently and got up on his knees to inspect Hinata's supine form. She was physically fine, but she was too frazzled by what just happened. "Hinata-chan? Hinata-chan!"

When she managed to get back to reality, Hinata saw Naruto bending over in front of her. "We good?" he asked, extending a hand to her.

She gratefully took the hand, and was pulled back up. Hinata and Naruto turned to see that Kurama and Haku had found them both…and with the Mizukage in tow. He wore a quilted, short-tailed coat and a tight-fitting body glove in place of the clothes he was found with, and his aura gave off the pulling feeling of Void Light. In one hand, he carried the hook-ended club he wielded in life; in the other, Naruto could make out the glow of the data crystal chip containing the Sanbi no Kyodaigame. He also had his Ghost hovering over his shoulder.

Naruto had nothing but a warm smile for his fellow former Jinchūriki. "How does living again feel?"

"I feel free," Yagura admitted, "Like all the strings controlling me were cut. And yet, I still feel a weight in my heart."

"I doubt you'll ever be free of it," Naruto agreed. "But the best way to start lightening that load would be to do whatever you can to free yourself. It doesn't matter how far past redemption you are; you may not be able to change the past, but you can lighten the load in your heart by preventing it from happening again."

There was a moment of silence between the two former Jinchūriki, as Yagura began to process what Naruto had told him. There was truth in what he'd said. "What should I do now?"

* * *

[En route to Konohagakure no Sato, a few days later]

The woods were quiet as two shinobi hopped through the trees towards their destination. One of them carried a corpse over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, while the other carried a rokushakubo tipped with iron bands. Both wore the flak jacket of a Chūnin, but the one with the corpse wore his hitai-ate as a bandana, while the other wore it like a collar.

Their mission was simple: collect the body of one Uchiha Sayuri from Hatake Kakashi, then go on back to Konoha to ensure she had a proper funeral. They had to be discreet about transporting the body into the village however; the Hokage had explicitly said not to let anybody know about what happened to the girl in an autopsy. This meant smuggling the corpse into the village with a disguise.

"What do you think, Taiko?" asked the shinobi carrying the corpse.

"About what?"

"The incident at Kirigakure."

Taiko snorted. "Oh, come on! You don't seriously believe that bull, do you Genda?"

"I don't know about that," sang Genda, "There's so many witnesses, even the rebels themselves are corroborating those accounts."

"And you believe them? Genda, there is no way in hell that that's even possible!"

"Even Kakashi himself confirmed it; he saw the damage himself."

"And Kakashi's a demon-loving asswipe!"

Genda simply stared at his friend. "You do realize you're getting your facts wrong?"

"Who cares? A demon's a demon! I'm glad the brat's dead!"

"I dare you to say that in front of Tsunade."

"Please! Not even I'm that stupid! And…"

Genda screamed, cutting Taiko off mid-sentence as he fell forward, dropping the corpse as both fell into a leafy area. "Shit!" he said to himself as he broke off from the course. He began to follow his friend's corpse to the forest floor; if he did not bring that corpse back home, he would be docked of his pay.

As he searched the entire area, he soon found himself listening to Genda's screams, which caused him to run towards the source of the commotion. What he saw had haunted him; he found the dead body of Genda propped up against a large tree, his mouth forever open in a scream. Taiko's train of thought was interrupted when he felt something slice him in the ankles, then the backs of his knees, shortly before he was kicked forward in such a manner as to force him to kneel painfully. He then felt his head being pulled back, letting out a choked scream as a foot pinned him down by his wounds.

He could not see his assailant, but he just knew that their head was right next to his. The voice he heard was clearly female, and the words disturbed him to no end: "This is for insulting Naruto-kun."

Taiko screamed as he felt his assailant biting him hard in the neck…he felt the draining sensation of all his stored-up chakra going into his wound, followed by what he assumed was his soul. Within seconds, his heart slowed to a complete stop; his body began to quickly freeze; and the last thing he saw before he was consumed by darkness was the corpse of Uchiha Sayuri, looking down upon him with a third Sharingan in her forehead…

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry, no action for now…but there will be action in the future. But in any case, do please leave a review, would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

* * *

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **Rokushakubo—literally translated as 'six-shaku bo' in Japanese, this is pretty much a quarterstaff.**_

 _ **Taiko—the shinobi's name is a type of drum…actually, a gigantic Japanese drum.**_

* * *

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Data Crystal Chip—Halo**_

 _ **Tork the Gunsmith—pretty much references an Ork Mekboy**_


	9. Into the Sun

_**A/N: Oh goody, we have a new chapter this fast…you can thank my desire to get ideas out of my head quickly for this. I hope the quality has not suffered. In any case, do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

* * *

[Konohagakure no Sato]

Tsunade grabbed a bottle of saké from her drawer; she seriously needed it. Throughout the week, a lot of things had warranted her throwing caution to the wind, and getting the strongest bottle she could find. _Given what's been happening, I'm really gonna need it._

The first thing that came to mind was the video that Danzo's ROOT operative had brought back. It took place on a strategic outpost near the borders of Tsuchi no Kuni. Whoever got control of that outpost would be able to have a good look into the country, along with a secret passageway that led to a cave system that would allow spies to enter the lands near Iwagakure without being detected. She never did see eye-to-eye with Danzo, but she knew its importance; there were a number of uses for such a secret passage, the most important of which being the exfiltration and infiltration of spies from Konoha. And apparently, there was enough room in that cave to hide a safe house. _And a secret cache of vintage saké, heh, heh._

{Play: "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse}

As Danzo's ROOT operatives were about to move in to try and set up shop in the outpost, they walked into a sight that nobody expected to see. There were Guardians running around, trying to kill each other as they raced out from opposite sides of the outpost. One of them seemed to give off a bright glow from his heavy armor as he helped his comrades fight off the opposition. Four Guardians in turn were using their high-tech weapons on the opposing team, their shots obviously aiming for the glowing Guardian in armor.

Tsunade had no idea what was going on, but found herself wanting to root for the team with the glowing Guardian, as they managed to get their remaining numbers back together and break through. The remaining three Guardians ran towards the highest point on the opposite side of the outpost, shot down the opposition flanking a void that seemed to pull everything into it. The Glowing Guardian went into a running leap, allowing a mechanism in his back to thrust him even higher into the air. He reached out his armored hand, allowing the glow to drain from his body, shaping it into a blinding sphere of white light. With a strong swing, he slammed the sphere into the void, causing it to detonate before the offending team ran off, their colleagues being revived with a bluish light emitted by a small machine. _What_ are _those things? If we could find out what they did to bring back the Guardians, and how they did it, imagine the possibilities!_

The six Guardians ran back to the center of the outpost, just in time for their opponents to materialize back into existence with red lights. They fought for a good fifteen seconds in the middle of the outpost before a white spark appeared between them. This time, a Guardian in a tattered hood from the opposing team snuck in from nowhere, slid between an armored Guardian's legs, grabbed the spark, and made a run for it to the opposing team's base. As soon as she got to there she leaped into the air, the two guardians there fired their weapons at her only to miss as a pad of air formed beneath her feet and allowing her to take another leap. She then formed a large, one-handed weapon in her hand, and fired one shot into each of the Guardians protecting the void, causing them both to explode by the time she landed to place the spark into it.

She then ran back to the middle of the outpost, for the battle to continue. Tsunade had no idea what to make of this violence that the Guardians were inflicting upon each other…much less on how they could treat death this casually. And as the battle went on, she could not help but wonder why this was going on. Why were they shooting each other repeatedly, and putting these sparks into the voids? She kept wondering until she had a theory: what Danzo's ROOT operatives had encountered was some kind of training exercise.

At the last few moments of the film, she noticed that the fight was getting even more tense…this round was going to decide the winner, as both teams fought for control over the spark. The hooded Guardian that won the second round was punched out by the armored Guardian she saw and was rooting for. Guardians that glowed were immediately gunned down, causing the spark to reappear every twenty seconds and the stalemate to get tense enough that even the ones guarding the void were forced to get into the action.

This time it was different; a small, hooded Guardian ran up to grab the spark. His teammates nearby saw this, and scored head shots on the Guardians that were about to fire on him. She could see that he was very fleet-footed, the glow emanating from his body getting even brighter as he ran faster and faster towards the opposite side of the outpost. A Guardian in a quilted jacket with a large weapon, fired a large shot that sped towards him…only for his teammate to catch up and create a bubble of purple energy to stop the shot, allowing the little one to run. Tsunade silently cheered on as the little Guardian leaped into the air, teleported to the top of the building after being shot at, and was able to get the spark to the void just in time to be riddled with holes as he pumped his fist into the air in celebration…with a small machine hovering over where he was shot.

The match was over. Guardians that had been shooting at each other the past half-hour or so were actually helping each other up. Some shook hands, while those in the team that gave off blue lights celebrated with a bit of dancing. But the armored Guardian Tsunade first silently cheered for walked towards his smaller teammate's 'body', and resurrected the little Guardian in the hood.

Their helmets were engulfed in a bluish-white light as the large, armored Guardian knelt in front of his small teammate who took off his helmet to do the same. When the lights around their heads cleared up, Tsunade gasped as she clearly recognized their features: the armored Guardian had long, white hair that cascaded to his shoulders and warm, green eyes. He had a very kind face, and carried himself like a medic under his heavy armor, but he was more than capable of handling himself in a fight whenever necessary. The smaller Guardian had golden-brown hair and eyes, young features belonging to a genin-level shinobi that had not seen a lot of missions. His outfit seemed to suit him, as it gave him the appearance of a little trickster.

It brought tears to Tsunade's eyes as she recognized that the two of them were people that should have been dead long ago. Both were people that were close to her heart, only to be taken from her by fate…and their wills having long ago been passed on down to Naruto. She had no idea what to make of the idea that Katō Dan, and Senju Nawaki were alive once again…her thoughts on the matter were mixed. _How did they come back? Why haven't they aged? Why were they there?_

Tsunade filled a saucer to near the brim with saké from her hidden stash. She never told Shizune, because she wasn't certain on how she would take to the idea of her uncle being brought back to life. Besides, even she had no idea how to explain what she'd just seen. However, as much as she hated to admit it, she owed Danzo…and so in exchange for the documents, he was to use his ROOT operatives to find more spots where Guardians trained and report back with recordings of their training sessions and possibly the location of their headquarters.

That being said, she had other matters to attend to…such as the corpse retrieval team she'd sent over to Kakashi to pick up the corpse of Uchiha Sayuri. It'd been days since they were last seen, and nobody's seen hide nor hair of them. She'd sent the remnants of Team Eight to find them, and was currently waiting on the report on what they had to say on the matter. _What the hell is so hard about retrieving a corpse?!_

The autopsy was something she desperately wanted done, but without a corpse, she was left at odds as to what to do.

"Tsunade-sama, are you drinking again?!" snapped a voice in the doorway that almost made her drop the bottle. Tsunade looked up to see Shizune standing there with a pile of manila folders in her hands, stopping just in time to not let the saucer overflow. She let out an exasperated sigh as she noticed the Hokage's expression. "Is it really that bad?"

"All this stress is really getting to me," she admitted. Tsunade had a pretty good idea what was in those folders…but if she really wanted to enjoy the saké, she needed to get this over with. "Those the names we're sending in?"

Shizune nodded in assent, handing Tsunade the pile of folders. "Their jōnin senseis have stated that they're more than ready. Plus, Shikamaru's going to be there."

"After what happened with Naruto-kun and incident at Yukigakure," she said, going through the folders, "I'm surprised he hasn't decided to retire early."

"Quite the opposite, Tsunade-sama. I think that Naruto-kun's death motivated him to be a better commander."

As she looked through the names of Konoha Genin, Tsunade found that aside from having to reallocate some shinobi to fill missing team rosters, she had nothing bad to say about this year's candidates so far. _With any luck, we won't have another Invasion of Konoha on our plate._ After a sip of her sake, she felt that now was a good time to ask. "Shizune, what would you do if someone you loved came back to life?"

The confusion was clearly written across Shizune's face. "Where did this come from?"

"Humor me." she said, without taking her attention off the pile of manila folders.

Shizune thought carefully on her answer. Whatever it was that Tsunade was getting at, she could tell that it was important. That, and it was likely going to result in a long talk between them…

* * *

[Elsewhere]

Tobi sat at a table, spinning his fire-bladed knife around with the tip digging into the surface, periodically stopping it before spinning it again. He smiled under his mask, ignoring the food and drink he'd set aside for himself as he began to contemplate the visions he'd been having ever since he'd received it. If one were to hold it, they would feel its hatred just from its touch; but it showed him a vision in his sleep. _I wonder…what other worlds are there, beyond what I saw in my dream?_

He dreamed of a world with eerily glowing green skies, locked in a perpetual night. In this world, he spotted a city with buildings made up of simple, yet elegant geometric shapes. Cubes dominated the decor, but every portal to every room in this place was round, breaking off from the solid nature of the place as they were lit by blue lights. The general shape of the buildings were simple, but he could make out little bits of squares and rectangles that added to the complexity of the place.

A turn to see the sights behind only served to astound him. In the distance, Tobi could see a large plateau rising up from the ground, and what appeared to be a carpet of reds, greens, and whites that stretched on for miles. It gave him the impression of a garden, filled with what he assumed were roses of varying shades of red and white. Their thorns were hidden, and threatened to cut into him if he were not careful.

The roses were held up by large, stone planters that allowed a subtle path through the garden. He could only imagine as to what was going on. However, before he could take another step in the garden, he noted that this place had gardeners. They were machines wielding intimidating weapons as they patrolled the area. Some were clad in bronze armor, others were in black, but all of them gazed out into the distance with a single red eye scanning for threats.

The most common of these bipedal machines were man-sized automatons with crested heads and bronze armor. In the area where one would find a stomach, there was a white glow of some kind. The weapons that some of them wielded seemed to be made of two prongs, and was wielded in one hand as they made their rounds. The ones that weren't armed were hard at work, erecting more planters and filling them with some kind of fertilizer before planting the seeds of what Tobi assumed were more flowers.

Standing guard, over several planters were similar-looking machines to the ones building more planters for the garden. They differed from the workers in that they were covered in black armor, had horns and a tail, with a glowing white area where the stomach would be. They were armed with a slightly larger weapon than their compatriots, and their left arms were fitted with a large weapon. He had no idea what they were guarding the workers from, but they were definitely guards.

Upon hearing a mechanical roar, Tobi turned to see that there were giants among the gardeners. He eyeballed them to be at least twice his height, and the smaller machines seemed to be obeying them. These commanders were clad in black armor, with no sign of a white glow on any part of its body; their heads were set into their heavily-armored shoulders, apparently adding more protection. Some of them wielded a large weapon that he had no doubt would destroy many a target, and their left hands terminated in large claws that were likely used to impale some poor, helpless soul. If the term 'large and in charge' were ever to be true, then these giants made it so.

Soaring above the sky were flying machines that spun as they surveyed the area below. Whatever they were doing, it was clear that they were not exactly adroit as they spun around in an attempt to get their bearings. They were covered in bronze armor, with three plates covering a streamlined body and surrounding a single red eye. Some of them unfolded their plates, giving them the appearance of three-petaled flowers with tentacles swishing around behind them.

The some of the death-flowers flew towards gigantic centipede-like machines that slowly hovered above the ground. Their pointed heads had one glowing 'eye' surrounded by what appeared to be four more eyes, and their bodies appeared to be T-shaped. Some sort of shield circled around the centipedes, but all of them stopped whenever they ran into one of the commanders. The commanders stepped aside as if in respect to these behemoths. Tobi had no doubt that as slow as the centipedes were, they were likely heavily armed and armored.

And finally, at certain intervals within the garden, he could see large, stationary machines that scanned the entire area. They looked like large heads that popped out of the ground, looking out into nothingness with a single eye. The heads themselves had a v-shape that swept off to the back. They were held up by an armature that turned the heads to whatever spot needed to be watched. Tobi had no idea what those things were, but he had to give them credit for due diligence; even if the _were_ machines.

Whatever this garden was for, Tobi felt a sense of foreboding whenever he looked at the gardeners. He saw some of them teleporting to get to some other area in the worksite, while others were too busy with what they were doing to care about him. Other than that, it was business as usual for the machines until they suddenly stopped in the middle of their work. They turned towards him, making Tobi wonder if they'd spotted him; that was, until he realized that they were looking at something past him.

He turned around, and saw a massive, black cloud kicking up more than a few feet behind him. He could smell the air burning about him as lightning arced within the shadow. Before long, four bright lines had dropped in from above as four giants fell to the ground, landing upon the steps leading to the city. They all had the same body type as the commanders, but they had a white glow radiating from where their stomachs were, and he eyeballed them all to be about three stories tall.

Each of the 'lords' had a different design: one of them had a flat ring for a head, and seemed to have a rugged look to its chassis as though it had seen some action, but was capable of fighting some more. Another seemed newer, with an elaborate version of the workers' crests; it looked to be the first of its kind, with how shiny its seemingly gold-plated armor was. The third was green, and had more of a resemblance to the commanders he had been seeing; it looked even older, judging by the amount of moss that was growing on its chassis. And the final one was covered in crystal instead of metal; it gave the impression that it was truly the one in charge, especially with the three horns on its head giving the impression of a crown. All four of them wielded weapons that would not be out of place on the machine commanders, just upsized to fit their massive hands and frames.

The four machine lords descended the steps, their walk emulating the confidence of a king. They came to a stop in front of Tobi, stepping aside so as to allow the crystal lord to have a better look at him, while still surrounding him. "You are the one chosen by our god?" asked the crystal lord, the flanged, mechanical voice booming in Tobi's ears, like a horn. "You are the one that shall program us with new directives?"

"He…cannot…" came the voice of the one he identified as 'Mossy', its voice a slow droning sound that gave the impression that it was wheezing between words. "He…has not…yet…been…taken…"

"And yet, he has been chosen," added Gold, its words a very sibilant hiss in its lispy voice. "He has been given the knife."

Ring-head had nothing to say…its words came out as a series of mechanical whines and roars. As it spoke, a ring inside its head turned in rhythm to its words. It seemed to be analyzing him with its single eye and its words.

"He will never be our programmer," said the Crystal King, "He is but an amateur in the art of warping time and space."

"And yet…there is…potential in him…" interjected Mossy, "Perhaps…he can be…taught in…our programming…"

There was more whining and roaring from Ring-head. Whatever it seemed to be saying seemed more contemplative than before. Plus, Tobi thought he could hear a bit of curiosity in its tone.

The four machine lords remained silent. They seemed to be processing everything. "You have no place here in this garden," the king finally said, "You have not yet been taken, and therefore you have no jurisdiction over us."

After that, the four machine lords decided to try and stomp Tobi to death…causing him to wake. He realized then and there that this was no mere dream; that the garden was a real place that grew both into yesterday and tomorrow. It was yet another bit of incentive for him to allow himself to be Taken; with the gardeners under his command, he could learn how to refine his capability to bend reality to his will. And if all else failed, he could always burn every reality he came across.

When the time comes, he would commit seppuku with the knife, but not yet—he would do it on his own terms if it came to that. There was a chance that he would no longer need this knife…and this was assuming his plans came into fruition. _But even so, there's nothing wrong with having an emergency contingency is there?_

* * *

[Sunagakure no Sato, a few weeks later]

(Shikamaru)

The amount of genin in the area was staggering, as Nara Shikamaru watched from his position in the test building. In addition to the number of teams that had come to make an attempt to become chūnin, he spotted quite a few that were from his own village…all of whom were veterans of the previous Chūnin Exams that took place in Konohagakure no Sato.

Team Asuma had returned to Konoha with their mission in Harugakure no Sato completed; and it was by the efforts of one of the vigilantes, these so-called 'Guardians' that it was so. The idea that three of them were more than capable of storming Kirigakure had reached their ears, and made them more than motivated to bring one of them home for interrogation. This would make them up their own regular training regimens at home, leading to why they were now in this year's Chūnin Exams; to put their skills to the test. Sadly however, Shikamaru was already a chūnin, and thus was made a proctor of the exams…which left Team Asuma one member short until the Hokage had recalled Haruno Sakura temporarily from her long-standing mission to join their team.

Team Gai was more than ready for a second try at becoming chūnin. Rock Lee was especially pumped at having yet another chance to prove himself. True, he'd been a bit more subdued since Naruto's death…and for a while, he was too depressed to even train. Fortunately, training with Choji had brought him back out of his funk. Like many other teams, Lee saw these exams as an opportunity to put his skills to the test, mainly because he wanted to have more power to protect his precious people and to prevent another Naruto incident.

Hyūga Neji had spent considerable time in a temple after Hinata died. After weeks of meditation sealed away in a prayer chamber, he had a vision. To this day, he had not gone into detail about it; but he _did_ claim to to have seen his own death. According to him, Naruto and Hinata's deaths were proof that one could not fight fate; however, people were truly defined by their choices in the now, and how they chose to meet their fates. Because of this, declared that he would at least live long enough to meet his own destiny on his own terms.

Tenten worked even harder at the forge after hearing about Sakura and Sayuri getting a mission to go hunt down the Guardians, and could not help but feel that they were lucky. Naruto's death had hit her considerably harder than the rest of her team. No surprise, given that she and Naruto grew up in the same orphanage, and were pretty close even though she was adopted. Even before the attack at Kirigakure, she'd heard rumors of the Guardians using advanced weapons to effortlessly kill bandits; weapons that let out a loud 'bang' as they fired certain death at their targets. She'd felt that if she had any of these weapons, and that if she'd joined in the chase, Naruto would still be alive…which was why she was willing to join Sakura and Kakashi in their hunt for the Guardians after these exams.

 _A hunt that my team and I would be glad to join in on._ Shikamaru thought to himself, _Though we may be able to track them after today; word is, the Kazekage had met with four of them, and that they're sending in three representatives with the promise that they would not be allowed to use their flying machines during the exams. Good thing too…if they'd sent in any more, and their wings weren't clipped, then it'd be a one-sided battle between the shinobi and the Guardians in the next phase. Though it_ is _odd…even after Kirigakure, they're trying to be discreet. Why reveal themselves to the world now?_

Any other thoughts were interrupted when the genin seemed to quiet down for some reason. Shikamaru hazarded a glance outside the window.

"What is the matter with these genin?!" asked Temari, coming to join Shikamaru by the window. Troublesome as she was, Temari was very understanding…which led to the two of them seeing each other more often.

"I have a pretty good idea what's up," he said, pulling out a pair of binoculars. He noted that all the genin down below were looking at something that was behind them. That, and he thought he'd heard something familiar in the distance…

* * *

(Tenten)

Tenten watched as a dust cloud kicked up from behind, a loud humming noise filling the air as it got closer and closer. She waited and watched with her team in curiosity.

"Neji-kun, what do you think that is?" asked Lee.

At this point, Neji's Byakugan was activated. "I see three forms," he finally said, "They're roughly ten miles away, and closing. They're riding large machines, and are moving in fast."

Within minutes, three shapes had sped in, the dust cloud dying down behind them. It was then that Tenten had her first glimpse at them up-close.

[Play: "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" by Tomoyasu Hotei, from "Electric Samurai"]

There were three figures; each of them dismounting a large, streamlined vehicle that hovered off the ground that disintegrated into motes of light. One of them was clearly female under all the layers of armor on her body. Her face was obscured by a domed, silver-plated helmet with ornate engravings, and the entirety of her heavy armor was shaped in aerodynamic curves. A decorative banner of some sort hung at the right side her waist, and dangled just above her ankles. All in all, she gave the impression of a gentle giant just by her steps alone.

The second was a boy in a leather greatcoat that flowed in the air behind him. His helmet was rounded and had an open visor. At his left upper-arm, he wore a hitai-ate that she recognized belonged to Konohagakure no Sato. All in all, there was a bit of a restrained mischief in his walk…as though he wanted to put everyone that looked down on him in their place. Something about him left her bothered for some reason, but Tenten had a feeling that whatever prank he decided to pull would be great.

The last was a girl in a leather hood. She wore more armor than her colleague in the coat, but less than the armored girl. The impression Tenten had of her was of someone that lived their life in the wilderness, but was capable of working together with others when the situation warranted. But other than that, she had a feeling that this girl was more than capable of handling herself in a fight; especially with a knife in hand.

As luck would have it, she was looking at the three Guardian representatives. _Why are they revealing themselves now?_ Tenten asked herself, _And where are their weapons?_

Tenten had no idea what was going to happen, especially as the crowd parted to let the three of them through. Not a surprise, considering what happened at Kirigakure; though she did notice that Sakura and the remnants of Team Asuma were paying extra special careful attention at them. Well, the one in the greatcoat in particular.

"I can feel the flames of youth in all three of them," said Lee, "I must fight them as soon as possible."

"Be patient, Lee," Neji admonished, "you'll get your chance soon enough. One way or another, the Guardians will prove if they are indeed capable of what I've heard."

On that note, Tenten agreed. She wanted to see just what kind of power their weapons packed. If she could study the inner workings of their advanced weaponry, then she would keep the designs to herself so that they would not fall into the wrong hands. And it just so happened that the ones who had those weapons were heading into the building where their first test was to be held.

* * *

[Team Asuma]

Sakura and Ino watched as the three Guardians passed them by…one of them in particular was the Guardian with the Konoha hitai-ate wrapped around his left upper-arm. For Sakura, it was a chance to capture and possibly unmask him. There was no way in her mind that Naruto was alive, and yet the way this Guardian walked seemed to defy what she believed. Perhaps it was her way of trying to prepare herself for the prospect of facing him…to soften the blow should he be angry at her for thinking she sent him to his death.

Unsurprisingly, she'd shared her findings with Team Asuma as soon as she'd arrived days ago…as well as her hypothesis on the Guardian's identity. And seeing as they too were intent upon capturing this particular Guardian, it only served to motivate them even further towards capturing him. What they did not see coming was the idea that they'd be seeing him again…they were curious as to what he'd done since the Yukigakure Incident leading up to the attack at Kirigakure.

One way or another, Konoha would be capturing a Guardian…and with any luck in the interrogations, they would find out if Uzumaki Naruto was indeed among their number. The crew of the T&I Department should be able to extract whatever information they needed. Shikamaru's orders were to wait until the second stage of the exams; they would have a better chance of finding the Guardians in the Ma no Sabaku.

"You think we can handle the attempt?" asked Choji.

"I think finding them will be the easy part." said Sakura, watching as the three Guardians walked on by. " _Actually_ capturing them will be the difficult part. It's up in the air if we can do it."

* * *

(Naruto)

Every step towards the building was punctuated by murmurs of genin watching as they passed through.

"It's them…it's the Guardians."

"I heard they destroyed a lot of bandits."

"Don't piss 'em off…look what happened to Kirigakure."

"Lots of shinobi died when they attacked…they're nothing but killing machines if you ask me."

Naruto, Hinata, and Haku ignored the murmurs, and pushed down the urge to go see their fellow members of the Konoha Twelve. Part of the reason they were here was because there was no longer much of a need to hide the true capabilities of the Guardians after Kirigakure. The other reason was because they had two Jinchūriki to keep an eye on; one of whom had accepted the Ghost that came to him as a new companion, and willingly agreed to come to Nami no Kuni to free his own Bijū in the future. The other had no Ghost yet, and needed to be taken out of Kaze no Kuni to have her Bijū extracted and to be turned into a Guardian.

And speak of the devil, and she doth appear. As Naruto turned his head, he found their target; she had tan skin and green hair. She looked upon them with a mixture of curiosity and fear…unsurprising, considering their reputation. "I have eyes on the target," he said on a private intercom. "Let's keep it that way. We're not going to lose any more Bijū to those assholes."

* * *

 _ **A/N: And Naruto gets to go on another Chūnin Exam…and Fū is his next target to rescue. Though I do wonder…with Team Asuma be able to capture him this time? Stay tuned, and keep it classy.**_

* * *

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **Ma no Sabaku─Translated as the "Demon Desert", written as "**_ _ **魔の砂漠"**_


	10. This Ain't No Place For No Hero

_**A/N: I wonder how many more people can take the tension that has been built up to this point. Still, it's been slow going this time, and I'd like to thank Soleneus for editing and beaming ideas into my head…so ladies and gentlemen, a warm round of applause to him. Aside from that, do read and review would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

* * *

[Chūnin Exams, Second Stage]

There was a tense silence as the Chūnin hopefuls felt no small amount of pressure inside the testing area. Not one person within these chambers was ignorant about the Guardians, and about what they did in Kirigakure. Those that had no idea exactly _who_ they were going into the exams with, were very likely not going to survive for long. Then again, this was only the written test…something that Naruto and Hinata had already taken. Haku, on the other hand, had no idea what the test was for and was sweating bullets until it was explained that this part was mainly to see how well one performed at the art of espionage.

Thankfully, she had been making good progress at a way to use her Hyoton capabilities. Ever since she'd been brought back to life, she had been experimenting during her free time, trying to get back her ability to create items out of ice. A bit of practice in the three Hunter disciplines had given her a bit of a primer on shaping things with her Light…which would come in handy with creating her own unique Hunter class. She could've gone with Naruto's suggestion to subtly summon their Ghosts, have them sneak around above the testing area, and spy on the other students; but this exam allowed her the ultimate opportunity to practice shaping things with her own "Cryo" Light. After successfully convincing Naruto to allow her to do this, her 'practice' was implemented by subtly creating mirrors in the ceiling from the condensation that was building up in the room, as well as a small mirror in front of her to get the information she needed.

She'd yet to figure out a name for this new class, or all the specifics for it; but she knew she wasn't the only one experimenting on Guardian classes. Whenever Naruto was not on patrol, he was in his own section of the Nami no Kuni Tower, trying to create a totally new class that would combine the best aspects of the Warlock, Titan, and Hunter amidst his own personal library. It seemed that being resurrected as a Warlock had brought out a bit of genius that was hidden away in him. He'd yet to find someone that he could safely resurrect as his new class, but he was also looking into ways of changing his own (due to his disappointment at being resurrected as a Warlock instead of a Titan).

"Naruto-kun, are you okay?" asked Hinata over the team intercom. They'd kept their helmets soundproofed from inside, so that nobody could catch them cheating.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"She's worried about you after what happened with Utakata…answer for number 9 is B, by the way." Haku replied simply.

The subject of Utakata was a bit of a sore spot for Naruto…who had sworn to never let another Jinchūriki fall into the hands of the Akatsuki. His opponent at the time happened to be Pein; their suspected leader. Hinata and Kaiza were there as his support, and they helped him fight off three more of Pein's reinforcements. But, by the time they were able to kill the remaining four bodyguards, they were too late: the Rokubi no Namekuji was already extracted from Utakata's body, and Pein had left it there to rot.

Nevertheless, Utakata was resurrected as a Defender Titan, and Naruto offered him his sincerest apologies for the failure to get there in time. His fellow Jinchūriki had immediately forgiven him; telling him that it wasn't his fault that Saiken was taken from him. From that moment on, Naruto told himself: never again.

"I'm fine, Haku," answered Naruto, over the intercom. "I think we should really get this test done and over with as soon as possible. What's the answer for number 3?"

"That would be C…are you worried about Gaara?" asked Hinata.

"According to the intel the Warlocks have gathered, the Akatsuki will not try to take him for a while; so he's safe for the time being." answered Naruto, "Besides, the Ghost we sent invited him to Nami no Kuni at his own leisure if he wanted to free Shukaku and survive the process. No, the person I'm _really_ worried for is Fū…the Warlocks we have infiltrating Akatsuki's spy network have reported that she's their next target; the problem is that they don't know when or where they're gonna strike in these exams. Even worse is that they have no idea _who_ they're gonna send."

"We'll be fine," reassured Haku, "We've just got to be careful not to let her out of our sights until we can at least give her the Ghost. Question number 6 is A."

"This will not turn into another Utakata incident." Hinata added comfortingly. "This time, we're here before them. We will not let them take another Bijū, because we're ready for them."

Naruto sighed, letting the stress melt out of his body. "Thanks girls. And you're right, Hinata; we're ready for them this time."

* * *

(Sai)

There was no pressure felt by Sai when it came to this test. He'd been through his fair share of intelligence-gathering operations, and so he knew a trick or two to cheat without getting caught. A few ink-mice hidden in the rafters were his eyes on the test as everyone worked on their test sheets. It just so happened that he found a good spot, where he found a disguised Chūnin giving out the right answers. At the same time, he noted quite a few Chūnin hopefuls were dragged away for getting caught. Overall, it was a pretty easy test.

It did not seem to make much -if any at all- impression on the remnants of Team Kurenai. Aburame Shiina and Inuzuka Kiba were assigned on solo missions since the death of Hyūga Hinata. Still, they were in need of a promotion…and Sai just so happened to be a free agent. Until he came along, the Aburame was working in her clan's honey production business outside of her regular shinobi work. Apart from that, she was sent on a lot of espionage and fugitive recovery missions with Kiba; the latter was done in hopes of preventing a recurrence of Naruto's fate. The former however, as much as she didn't show it, was because she felt that if she'd been able to gather better intelligence on the enemy before that ill-fated day, Hinata would have survived.

The Inuzuka, on the other hand, had been training vigorously after the death of both Hinata and Naruto, becoming more determined to never lose another friend. To this end, he and Shiina worked harder on their tracking skills, as well as to enhance their fighting capabilities with that vow on mind. A combination of good nutrition and hard training with his master ensured that Akamaru grew up stronger, faster, and tougher in order to end fights quicker. Kiba also had the opportunity to bond even deeper with his ninken to the point that their attacks became even more synchronized and powerful.

He, on another hand, was the newcomer to this team. And while it was hard to integrate into a team of seasoned genin, they were able to work together effectively as the sort of team that Yūhi Kurenai intended. They were a tracking team, and Sai's set of skills lent themselves well to the team. Especially since his ink-beasts served well in the scouting role, and synergized well with Aburame Shiina's Kikaichū by creating a larger search pattern. He was also placed there to add a bit more hard-hitting power to the team.

However, what really made him nervous was the presence of the Guardians in this exam. He didn't exactly care why they were here; he just did not want to be caught dead in their sights. The forensics reports of the ROOT operatives that were found indicated that they all happened to have crossed paths with the Guardians. Many of their bodies were riddled with small entrance wounds, and large exit wounds from tiny projectiles that mauled and perforated their corpses. Some of their remains were found disintegrated into ash by some sort of energy weapon. Others reported seeing them using what appeared to be Katon, Raiton, and some kind of purple energy. Then there were the ones who were caught in explosions of those types of energy.

It was truly a frightening prospect when someone was actually killing your colleagues whenever they crossed paths. He was actually glad the Guardians were too busy in their training exercise at the time to notice him and the operatives he brought with him to set up shop in that outpost a while back. If they did, they would very likely have turned those exceedingly deadly weapons on him and his squad. It just so happened that this was one of the possible reasons that the Guardians set up a training exercise at that outpost; their presence in that area provided what he assumed to be around the clock security for the outpost.

If he was lucky, they would have more pressing matters in these exams than to kill him on sight. Otherwise, he had to keep his head down. Whatever mission they had here, he had to report to Danzo-sama about their presence. Hopefully, he would not assign him to attempt a capture of one of the Guardians.

What Kiba and Shiina had said about the Guardians upon encountering them up-close and personal for the first time was what truly disturbed him. According to Akamaru and Shiina's colony of Kikaichū, the three of them reeked of death; not just from the number of shinobi and bandits that fell to their hands, but also from having come out of the grave themselves. And yet, for some strange reason, two of them smelled somewhat familiar. He had no idea what to make of that…though he did know about the Edo Tensei, the jutsu that Orochimaru used to resurrect the dead, so there was some kind of truth to it.

Sai would have to investigate further, but suffice to say; Danzo-sama would appreciate more intelligence on the matter of the Guardians. Therefore, it would be best to shadow them in the next part of the exams. _Why lose the opportunity to gather some intelligence while you're at it?_

"Pencils down." announced Shikamaru, "Now for the all-important tenth question."

As commanded, the pencil was put down. As the Guardians put their own pencils down, Sai watched them. The two female Guardians simply sat in place, but the one with the Konoha hitai-ate looked like he was reclining as if daring Shikamaru to say something. _Have they taken these exams before?_

"This question will decide whether or not you get to pass…"

* * *

[Myobokuzan]

The home of the shinobi toads was a place of natural beauty. It was a very wet location, with lots of waterways and vegetation; perfect for toads. This was also a place where Jiraiya had first come to master the art of Senjutsu…where Minato eventually learned to summon the toads himself. And had he survived to do so, he would've eventually taken Naruto here to learn Senjutsu as well. Apart from that, he had always liked to come here once in awhile to enjoy the scenery…and maybe a sip of some good wine.

But today, he came for business; the last time he was here, it was over a _very_ strange incident. Gamabunta had sent a large toad his way, a while after Naruto's death. As soon as he arrived, he learned that it was in regards to the summoning contract. A look at the scroll had revealed something strange: instead of being slashed-out with a single stroke, Naruto's signature was glowing a white light through the brush stroke.

There were attempts to reverse-summon Naruto, none of which seemed to have worked. It was something that confounded him to no end. This was not the first time this happened however; as Namikaze Minato's name started glowing in the same way after his death. Shortly after that incident, the so-called 'Guardians' began their two-year rampage of vigilantism in the Shinobi Nations. Nobody knew why this was so, but they _did_ know that Naruto and Minato's signatures glowing very likely meant that someone brought them both back to life.

He had no idea what to make of it; but Jiraiya somehow felt his spirits lifted at the idea that Naruto and Minato were both alive. This was why he kept his eyes and ears open for the possibility of finding either of them. Thoughts of what he would ask them had crossed his mind, hoping that he could find some answers. He also had his spy network keeping tabs on the Guardians and Akatsuki at the same time; from what he was able to gather, the two factions were at war with each other. The beginning of the string of vigilantism, Naruto and Minato's names returning to the contract; the timing seemed way too coincidental for his liking…it was as though they brought the Guardians back home with them.

But going back to today, he'd gotten a message from the Great Toad Sage, Gamamaru. It wasn't often that the elderly toad had called Jiraiya up; most of the time he did, it was to share a good drink. It wasn't very often that he called for business. Whenever it was for the latter, there was usually a prophecy involved.

A few minutes of walking, and he found two small, elderly toads looking up at him. One of them was green and had facial hair befitting that of an old man; the other was purple with a creamy underside with warts that gave the impression of an old woman. Small as they were, they had so much power compacted into their small forms. Unsurprising, as Fukasaku and his wife Shima were both the the second-most powerful toads on Myobokuzan. But to Jiraiya, and a lot of toads, they were Pa and Ma respectively. They were also his partners in the art of senjutsu.

After giving a respectful nod, the look on Jiraiya's face said it all. "Do you have any idea what he's calling me for, Pa?"

"No idea." Fukasaku answered blithely as he and his wife hopped after Jiraiya.

"Whatever it is, it's likely going to be very important if he called for you specifically." added Shima.

Time passed as the trio managed to catch up along the way. Their walk had taken them to a giant brown toad; his skin far more withered than normal, and his eyes had given out quite a while ago. He wore a black hat atop his head and he was reclining in a gigantic seat, giving him the appearance of a wizened old sage. Fitting, given that he was practically the oldest toad living in Myobokuzan. "Ahh…you have come."

"You called me, so I came to see what's up." Jiraiya replied simply, trying to seem nonchalant.

"I had a realization." said Gamamaru, shifting on his seat.

"What is it?" asked Jiraiya, curious as to what it was that was seen.

"Have you heard the tale of the 'Traveler of Light'?"

Nobody had any idea of what to make of Gamamaru's question. Though Jiraiya did remember hearing something about that subject. "Just stories…maybe even legends…?" he admitted, his shrug letting out a silent 'sort of', "About some ancient god of some kind, coming to this world and bringing many boons to the ancients. Lifespans tripled, technology jumping forward really fast, plagues and disease made a thing of the past. All in all, this 'god' brought with it a golden age where people that were under its immediate protection wanted for nothing. It was directly served and protected by an army of warriors that could use the god's power, many of whom were brought back from the dead…I think the stories called them the 'Revenants of Light.'

"Anyway," Jiraiya shook himself getting back on topic, "before this god, this 'Traveler', could spread its influence throughout the world to bring the golden age to everyone else, it was found by its old enemy. Humanity fell; not even the Revenants, for all their power, could stop it. After that, the Traveler disappeared from history; never to be heard from again."

"I've once seen the Revenants of Light before," Gamamaru said quietly, "and now that I think on it, they're now running about in the Shinobi Nations. The bandit population these days have been significantly reduced since they returned."

Jiraiya's eyes had widened in shock. "What're you saying? That these 'Guardians' are the Revenants of Light?" He asked incredulously.

"Correct." The Great Toad Sage rumbled, "And like before, I sensed that many of them have died. They figure into a new prophecy I have seen of the future."

"A new prophecy?"

Gamamaru nodded in assent. "One that is overwriting the one of the Child of Destiny…"

* * *

[Chūnin Exams, 2nd Stage]

Chūnin hopefuls stood outside in the sweltering desert heat for the second phase of the exams. Including the Guardians, thirty teams had passed the first exam, which meant that the numbers had to be cut down even further. Before them stood the Ma no Sabaku; the walls surrounding it were large and thick, composed of sand compacted so tightly that it was almost as if it were cement. In front of them was Temari; the Kazekage's sister, and a jōnin of the village. Behind her was a large gate from which all the genin would enter.

"All right then, here's how this is going to play out: you boys and girls are going to go into the Ma no Sabaku, and you have five days to get to the tower in the center of the desert." began Temari, lifting a folded piece of paper in each hand above her head to show the genin. "In addition to a scroll containing your survival gear, each team is going to get a piece of parchment. Alone, each piece will be blank; but when combined…" she says, as she placed two sheets of parchment together. Immediately, a seal activated within the pieces of parchment that caused brush strokes to appear on the overlapped surfaces. "…they will reveal a map that will show the location of all relics and ground water veins hidden in the desert. Once you get to the relic, you have to activate a seal array that will charge it with chakra. Stay there to defend it until it is completely charged; aside from each other, there are creatures in the desert that will know when you're charging it and will try to kill you. You have to get to the tower with the relic and your whole team intact within five days; fail any of these conditions, and you will be disqualified…assuming the relic doesn't kill you first."

Now this caught Sakura's attention. "What do you mean 'assuming the relic doesn't kill you first?' How can it do that?"

Temari looked to Sakura. "The relics you're looking for are designed to store chakra, but they're not exactly a stable container. Once you charge it, you'll have set an invisible timer ingrained into the relic that causes it to explode specifically on the fifth day. And let me tell you; with the amount of chakra being stored inside, there's enough force in the explosion to kill your entire team."

She could practically feel the tension thickening the air upon hearing that. This meant that all the chūnin hopefuls were terrified at the prospect of getting killed in an explosion. Temari turned her attention to a group of shinobi walking up to her with boxes in their hands. "These shinobi are carrying waivers for this part of the exams. The minute you sign these, we're not responsible for any deaths that occur from this point on. If you don't sign them, then you'll be disqualified until next year…which in turn means you're disqualifying your entire team."

The shinobi stepped away, passing out the waivers to all the genin. Many were brave enough to sign the waiver, choosing to risk death for an opportunity to become a chūnin; there were also a few that knew their limits, and wisely chose to leave the exam. Naruto, Hinata, and Haku were among the former, but mostly due to their mission to shadow Fū and protect her if necessary. One way or another, they would see to it that she would at least get a Ghost. However, to ensure that their identities were obscured, they all signed on as Mahōtsukai, Kyojin and Kariudo respectively.

"Naruto-kun, what are we going to do if Fū manages to get the relic?" asked Hinata over the Ghost's intercom, handing over her waiver and taking her scroll. "We can't use chakra anymore."

"You may not like it, Hinata-chan, but we're going to have to swipe a relic from someone that has it." answered Naruto, doing the same but putting the parchment into a pocket inside his jacket. "All we need for now is to steal a piece of parchment from some other team, then we keep an eye out for any relics in the area."

"That should be easy." agreed Haku, trading her own waiver for a supply scroll. "But at the same time, the sooner we get our hands on a relic, the easier our mission will be. So I say we search every team we cross paths with in order to find that relic…or at least the other half of the map."

Naruto looked to both Haku and Hinata. The nods they all traded with each other had showed a good amount of confidence in their body language. Once all the waivers were collected, everyone that remained stood at the ready.

Temari nodded to signal the shinobi standing guard at the sides of the gate to get ready. "One last word of caution: your survival gear contains enough supplies to last you two days, so make it count. How you make it last will be up to you; theft, rationing, and even hunting the creatures of the desert are all legitimate strategies so long as you come to the tower with both the relic and your entire team intact."

A good number of genin protested this; but this came mainly from the first-timers. The more seasoned ones on the other hand simply took it in stride. They'd been through their fair share of situations where they were cut off from supplies. Others simply saw it as a review of their basic survival skills. But everyone generally saw this detail for what it was: a test that would see how resourceful you were.

{Play: "Short Change Hero" by The Heavy}

Temari stood by the gates, everyone waiting patiently as they watched the heavy metal grates remained shut. Many genin crouched low to get a running start, hoping to be the first to get far enough into the desert for more preparation time. Naruto, Hinata, and Haku simply summoned their weapons, and holstered them respectively. Naruto's readied his beloved hand cannon The Last Word, 1000-Yard Stare sniper rifle, and his personal longsword; Hinata had the No Land Beyond sniper rifle, Conviction-II sidearm, and Truth rocket launcher; and Haku readied the Red Death pulse rifle, Hereafter sniper rifle, and Thunderlord machine gun.

It just so happened that Tenten was nearby, and she saw all the weapons that were being readied by the Guardians. Her stress was momentarily replaced with awe at the amount of work that went into the creation of these weapons. The first thought on her mind was _those guys are armed to the teeth!_ With that thought on mind, she made it a point to see them in action…hopefully with a non-Konoha genin at the business end.

Everyone stood at the ready to charge into the gates. Tensions increased as Temari turned to regard them all, after hopping onto the top of the wall over the gate. "Now then, there's one more command I have for all of you," she said, inspecting all the prospective chūnin for herself, "one objective more important than any other…"

Tensions arose as they awaited her next word. Some felt their hearts threatening to burst out of their chests when they noticed the gate starting to rise. Once it was completely open, everyone knew what that command was. One simple word from Temari would kickstart the second event: "…survive."

With that one word, it was as though an explosion had set off to signal the start of a race, all the genin flooded through the massive metal gates, scattering as they ran into the wide expanse of desert. They needed to get as far as they could to make their own preparations for this part of the exams. Only Naruto, Haku, and Hinata stayed behind, waiting for a moment until the many genin that ran through the gates were but a trickle. Once they were among the few remaining participants, they all summoned their sparrows in front of a surprised Temari, and sped away into the desert in the blink of an eye.

What she saw of the Sparrows had earned a single whispered remark from Temari: "I gotta get me one of those…"

A nod to the shinobi manning the gate's cam and pulley systems had given them the command to drop the gate. Looking out into the distance, Temari could still see quite a few genin trying to run away. The second stage of the Chūnin exams had begun.

* * *

{Play: "Last Stand" by Marty O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori from "Destiny: The Taken King"}

[Somewhere in Otogakure, a few weeks later]

All was silent in the lab…until a few resounding bangs could be heard. Orochimaru had to roll aside as large spikes flew above his head before embedding themselves into the wall above him. He hid around the corner of another corridor in his base, the Kusanagi no Tsurugi in his hands. Never before had he been tested to the degree he was; neither had he ever seen a weapon like what was being used against him. _I wonder…what other surprises have you returned to me with, Sayuri-chan?_

"I really wouldn't bother hiding!" cried the voice of his pursuer.

Orochimaru rolled off the wall just in time for a thin, glowing blade to pierce the corner in an attempt to stab him. He then turned the corner, bringing the blade of his sword down in an attempt to dismember his opponent. The blade was stopped by something hard, and Orochimaru had a careful look at the intruder. It did not stop the grin on his face as he studied the newcomer━there was a sadistic interest in his gaze. "You're not Sayuri-chan."

The creature he saw did indeed have Uchiha Sayuri's face and lean body type, but that was where the similarities ended. What appeared to be a suit of bone armor appeared to be growing out of arms and legs in large, overlapping plates that terminated in claw-tipped, armored fingers and toes. The creamy skin of her abdominals and her developing breasts were exposed to the world, but were flanked on both sides by more bony plates. Just around her neck a collar of overlapping plates that went down to larger plates that covered her shoulders. There was also an opened skull-shaped helmet, with a pair of blades protruding from the mandible and the rest of the skull pulled back to expose her face, with three sharingan active (two in their regular spots, and a third in the middle of her forehead). Coming from her back were a pair of webbed, batlike wings that were folded behind her to grant her better mobility.

"Oh no, I _am_ Sayuri," answered the creature with a fierce snarl, "Same meat. Same bone. But _so_ very different."

Orochimaru was knocked off balance as Sayuri parried his blade off her bone armor. He managed to duck just in time for the glowing blade to slash over his head, and through the other walls of his base shortly before he countered with a stab to the unarmored abdominals. Sayuri hopped back, attempting to answer with her own slash at him only to miss and take a straight kick in her abdominals that smashed her through the walls and into a more open area.

After recovering and righting herself, she spread her wings in mid-air, allowing Sayuri to slow her descent. As soon as she landed into the training arena, Orochimaru studied his opponent's weaponry. In one hand, Sayuri wielded what appeared to be a katana made of bone with a curved, three-foot blade. It was light and well-balanced enough to be wielded in one or two hands, but the glowing blade seemed to be dull. There was a subtle humming sound that told Orochimaru that the bone weapon was vibrating at ultra-high frequencies.

The other held the weapon that had been firing at him. It was a large, sleek, one-handed weapon that made him think of a flower of some kind…a rose to be more specific; one with no petals, but the jagged purpose of angry thorns. Organic curves and jutting blades gave it the feeling of a living creature, with glowing green jewels that seemed to give it life. The weapon was made of a darkened steel, and in the middle of its frame was a brass cylinder that gave the impression of some kind of drill. How it was able to fire those spikes, he had no idea, Orochimaru knew it was a very deadly weapon. _I must have her body! I must know where she got them!_

"I'm curious, Sayuri; how _did_ you get those weapons of yours?"

Sayuri smiled, even though she didn't seem inclined to answer. "And why should I answer the questions of a man who is about to die?"

"I _absolutely_ must know."

This time, Sayuri kept silent her ominous half-smile being the only answer. Orochimaru found himself wondering what exactly his former protege had on mind for him until he heard high-pitched shrieks coming from behind him. He was forced to leap out onto the training arena just in time to watch as two Konoha shinobi chased him out from the hole and landed deftly on their feet. Both of them looked like they were rotting, and it was clear that they had been dead for quite some time. He'd watched Sayuri kill Kabuto with a few shots to his knees from her thorny weapon, allowing these two to begin feasting on his apprentice's still-living body.

One way or another, it was a battle he would enjoy.

"Not that it matters, but my death had allowed me to truly see the Darkness." she began, throwing her sword away. It vanished in a burst of vile green flames upon hitting the ground. "It knows of you, Orochimaru- _sensei_ …it knows that you have felt its touch. It is a great god that is feeding off the evil that you are radiating, and sees that as worship. All it asks is for you to submit…to devote your time and the suffering you cause to its worship."

Orochimaru snorted in defiance, his blade held in a ready stance. "If you're looking to convert me into your little coven, you're sorely mistaken. There is only room for one god…and that god is me!"

Whether or not she was affected by his words, Sayuri grinned wickedly. She tossed her smaller weapon aside, allowing it to disappear in a burst of green fire. With her hands now freed, she conjured forth a shape from the wicked fire before it coalesced into a massive two-handed cleaver made of the same material as the katana. "Then prove your divinity to me!" Sayuri roared, charging forward.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you thermalsnipern7 for giving the Guardians a nickname in Naruto-verse…and Soleneus for giving me a good idea on how to make the second phase more original. Everyone, a warm round of applause for them. So please review, and keep it classy!**_

* * *

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Myobokuzan━pretty much the proper Japanese way of saying 'Mt. Myoboku', as the -zan is written as '**_ _ **山'**_ _ **which denotes a mountain.**_

 _ **Naruto, Hinata, and Haku's codenames━Mahōtsukai(**_ _ **魔法使い**_ _ **), Kyojin (**_ _ **巨人**_ _ **), and Kariudō (**_ _ **狩人**_ _ **) all mean 'Warlock', 'Giant', and 'Hunter/Huntsman' in Japanese.**_

* * *

 _ **Cameos/References**_

" _ **Same meat, same bone. But so very different."━from Dredgen Yor's monologue in "Ghost Fragment: Thorn"**_

"… _ **no petals; only the jagged purpose of angry thorns."━also from Dredgen Yor's monologue in "Ghost Fragment: Thorn"**_


	11. Muon no Ken vs Arc Light

_**A/N: Now a new chapter is done. As promised, there's action. Hopefully, it's still good. Do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

* * *

[Somewhere near the Ma no Sabaku]

The wind breezed through the open desert, carrying motes of sand over the dunes of the Ma no Sabaku. There was nothing but a sea of golden brown for miles, with the occasional cacti and rocky outcrop breaking up the scenery. Truly a harsh environment, but creatures still find a way to survive; especially since the nutrients soaked into the sand make it possible for ground-dwelling animals to grow large.

Fortunately for some Suna shinobi, this part of the exams was easy, which was the case for three of them as they walked through the wastes. One of them was a boy with gray hair, his battle-scarred body lean and strong, very likely from hard training and actual missions. He wore earthen green attire that included a vest and enabled him freedom of movement. All in all, his appearance coupled with the way he carried himself implied that taijutsu was his specialty.

Another was an adorable twin-tailed kunoichi with brown hair and eyes. One would've called the girl a loli, what with her large eyes and her small stature. She seemed frail, but the way she walked spoke of a nimble body type. If Tsunade were to ever find this girl, and learn the secrets of what was obviously her dōjutsu, she would be put through hell in order to become a great medic.

The third was a blonde with brown eyes, and wielding a small fan. She was roughly the same height as the taijutsu boy, and her hair was queued behind her back. There was a bit of intelligence in the way she carried herself, but her abilities had yet to be seen. However, she seemed to be a mix of both brawn and brains, as there was the hint of taijutsu training in her slender body.

Luckily for the Hunter, sneaking into this place was a breeze; and it would seem that Sabaku no Gaara had made quite a few reforms in his time as Godaime Kazekage, because it was a little difficult to infiltrate the village this time. For that, the Jinchūriki had earned his respect, and protection in the shadows by whatever Guardian he could muster. But at the moment, he was watching the second part of the exams below him through the scope of his sniper rifle Hereafter. It would seem that Naruto and his fireteam were zipping around on their Sparrows, moving to a collision course with the Suna team he was watching.

"Do you really have to stay _this_ far away?" asked the Hunter's Ghost, hovering over his shoulder. It had a green shell to discern it from others.

"Any closer, and I'd be found out." The Hunter answered lackadaisically, without taking his eye off the scope. "Besides, this was the highest place I could find without being discovered."

"What about your promise to the Speaker? Shouldn't you be watching over him?"

The Hunter turned to face the Ghost, his helmet dissipating in white light as he looked at it with an incredulous expression. "What do you _think_ I'm doing?" he asked, letting out a calming sigh before going back to his scope. "Ghost, you ever see a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis?"

"Several times." admitted the Ghost, wondering exactly where its Guardian was taking this.

"Well, you _could_ help a butterfly come out of its chrysalis; but that would weaken the bug. It would go out into the world, unprepared for what's to come…its wings would be too weak to fly without our help. Naruto, however, is shaping up well for a butterfly."

"That is assuming the Darkness has not set its sights on him."

"The Darkness already has its sights on all of us." the Hunter reminded. "It's only a matter of time before it comes for us seriously. _How_ we weather the upcoming storm will show how strong we truly are."

"This coming from the man that can't even weather his wife's pregnancy." interrupted a feminine voice next to the Hunter…the calm words hitting him in the gut like a punch from the Yondaime Raikage. A Hunter in a leather hood lay next to him in a prone position, looking through the scope of her MIDA Multi-tool. "Face it, when it comes to pregnant ladies, your balls fall off really fast."

"And I suppose you'd know all about that wouldn't you, Kurama?" asked the hunter, without taking his eye off his scope.

"I was sealed into her; of course I would know." Kurama replied sarcastically. "But what I really want to know, Minato, is when you and Kushina are going to reveal yourselves to Naruto."

The Hunter named Minato was silent about that. There was nothing he'd like to do more than to run on down and admit to Naruto that he was his father; that he was responsible for the harsh childhood he'd had to endure. And gods willing, he was happy to accept any justified scolding his son would have in store for him, but not now. Not when the Guardians needed to take this world back in the name of the Light. A foothold was needed to eventually take the fight to the Darkness. _When we take this world back, I promise you my son; you can speak with us all you like._

"You can hold your excuses for now." said Kurama, snapping Minato back to reality. "It looks like we're going to get some action after all."

 _No surprise there,_ Minato thought to himself, rolling his eyes before going back to his rifle scope, _speeding around on Sparrows like that is sure to get you into a fight sooner or later. And look at this! You've sped into my view. How will you handle this situation, son?_

"How much Glimmer are you willing to bet they're going to beat that team down?" asked Kurama, the challenge clear in her tone.

"I don't know; as far as Naruto's track record goes, he'll probably try to make a deal of some kind…you know, before trying to beat someone's ass down and resorting to theft?"

"Yeah? Well I've got six hundred Glimmer says that negotiations will go to shit and they'll wind up fighting that team."

Minato grinned confidently under his helmet. "You're on. But I'll only pay you if all six of them start fighting." he said, reaching out to his left side. Kurama met him halfway, the their fists gently colliding before they went back to holding their rifles.

* * *

[Ma no Sabaku]

Team Shira had been on the move since this stage of the exams began. Being Sunagakure natives, and having had quite a few missions under their belt, they were already used to these conditions. Seeing as they were too tired to run any further, the three of them settled down to rest.

"Yome, Shira, hand me your supply scrolls," said the blonde, reaching her hands out, "we're going to see what we've got so that we can plan for rationing if we can't find anything to eat out here."

The brunette and the silver-haired boy handed their scrolls to the blonde, who spread out the scrolls. As her brown-haired friend left to take the first watch over a dune, she cut her hand and ran it over the scrolls, allowing the smoke to clear out before she quickly began her calculations. True to Temari's word, there were enough supplies in each scroll to last two days: a first aid kit; a long-lasting soldier pill that could keep a ninja energized for an entire day; a box of hardtack in six rectangular wafers; a large, high-calorie chocolate protein bar; two large bottles of water; and a compass to point you in the right direction. In short, they were the sort of emergency rations that were carried during the Third Shinobi World War; before soldier pills lightened the load.

"How's it looking Sen?" asked the silver-haired boy.

"Well Shira, going by food alone, we're going to have to settle for half a hardtack and a square of chocolate for each meal," began Sen, as she re-sealed the contents of each scroll, "As far as water goes, we have enough in each bottle to last us a day…plenty of time for us to attack a team for a piece of parchment, and find a groundwater vein. Obviously, we should not use the soldier pill unless absolutely needed; but other than that, we should be fine so long as we…"

{Play: "Paranoid" by Black Sabbath}

Sen was cut off when she noticed that Yome suddenly raised her hand. A careful ear to the air revealed a mechanical sound, like the whine of an injured beast. It was closing in on Team Shira very quickly. "We've got a team incoming!" Yome finally said, panicking. "They're coming in fast!"

Within seconds, three forms sped over the dunes just in time for Yome to crawl away. The three blurs landed in such a manner as to surround the entire team. Sure enough, the three Suna shinobi saw that it was the Guardians that had come.

One of them was dressed in a leather greatcoat, with the infamous Konoha hitai-ate tied around his upper-arm. He wore a pair of gauntlets that had large copper wires wrapped around his forearms, crackling with electricity; those things resembled something like inductors or electromagnets. Apart from his helmet and gauntlets, there was not a shred of what Shira would consider as proper armor. Holstered at his side was a weapon with gold parts, which gave the impression of a commanding officer, but the near-complete lack of armor implied some kind of ninjutsu specialist.

Another was the heavily-armored girl that looked like she could take on entire armies with a faceless helmet. She also wore a white cuirass with golden trim, wolf and eagle motifs engraved upon its surface. However, her walk gave the impression of someone who did not want to cause unneeded harm. All the same, it was best to not push this girl too far; not with the large and menacing weapons she was carrying.

The third was a girl in a burlap hood. She wore very light armor that screamed 'big-game hunter' in at least twelve different languages. There was a knife holstered at the left side of her hip; one that looked like it had seen use as both a tool and a weapon. The weapon in her hands was intimidating, with spikes along the front end, and a bloody knife strapped to the front. Her blue helmet had a big, blocky visor with a slit cut into it.

The three Guardians dismounted their streamlined steeds and walked in close. The one in the leather greatcoat motioned for his companions to standby, though the two of them prepared their weapons for battle. The armored Guardian shouldered a weapon that gave Team Shira the impression of a TV camera, while the other readied her spear-like weapon to impale her targets if necessary. "As much as you probably won't believe us, we're not here to fight." said the leader. "In fact, we're here to make a deal."

Now this caught Team Shira off-guard. From the tales they'd heard of the Guardians, they'd been out in the world doing a lot of bloody vigilante work. A lot of bandits and shinobi had been killed at every encounter with them; to be fair though, the latter was mostly made up of nuke-nin, so that was pretty justified. The problem with their acts, apart from the ruthless efficiency of their kills, was that no matter how much good they did, they were effectively terrorists that only hunted other terrorists due to the fact that they were not affiliated with any village.

"Forgive me for being skeptical." Shira said skeptically, readying himself in a fighting stance. He was not so tight as to be limited to striking techniques, neither was he too loose to stick with grappling; he was right in the middle to allow for more options.

"If we wanted you dead, you'd already _be_ dead." said the leader, "We have an offer that you just can't possibly refuse."

Before he could say a word, Sen had silenced him with her hand raised. "What do you have to offer?" she asked, never taking her eyes off the Guardians, and their deadly weapons. It was very likely that her genjutsu would not work, given the fact that their bodies were covered in form-fitting rubber-suits underneath their attire.

"We hand you all our survival scrolls and our piece of parchment." began the leader, "In exchange, we get to have a look at the map."

The offer was indeed too good to be true. They stood to gain too much for so little; the Guardians _had_ to be getting something out of this deal. "What's the catch?" asked Sen, still not believing what she was hearing.

"No tricks, no catch, not even a single string for me to attach." The leader answered easily, "You get all our supply scrolls and our piece of parchment; all for a look at the map."

"Bullshit," interjected Shira, getting the leader's attention, "We both know that this is too good an offer to refuse. What do you stand to gain out of this?"

"I won't make you take the deal," the leader replied, shrugging nonchalantly, "I'm pretty sure there'll be other teams that'll be more eager. Though if you _want_ a stipulation, then how about a bet?"

"What kind?" asked an intrigued Shira.

"I fight you with none of my weapons, leader-to-leader," began the leader, "you win, you get everything I said you'd get. You lose, and you'll have to give us your piece of parchment."

Shira felt confident in himself as he released his stance to crack his knuckles. "Fine, you're on. But if I win, you will have to turn yourselves in to the authorities…however many of you there really are. Don't get me wrong; you guys are doing good in the wilderness, but you still have to explain yourselves to the Hidden Villages."

The leader grunted. "Fair enough. But I'll have you know, your jails are probably going to be filled up so fast, you might as well just leave us alone…and that's to say nothing of the time it would take to interrogate _all_ of us." he then reached his hand out, prepared to shake. "So, do we have a wager?"

"Prepare for a beatdown, bookworm!" said Shira, shaking the hand before slipping back into his stance.

"Yours…not mine." The leader answered the challenge with a simple shrug, undoing the belt to the gold-laden weapon, and allowing it to drop to the sand, before placing his sword and larger weapon next to it. He then rotated his shoulders before slipping into his own fighting stance. His palms were open; likely to make it easier to intercept and deflect blows, allow for grapples, and to increase the surface area of his strikes. "But just so you know," he said, the electricity arcing dancing around his fingers, "lightning is my friend."

Shira smirked. "That's fine. I could always use a challenge, Lightning Rod!"

The two of them stared each other down. Shira in his versatile taijutsu stance, while "Lightning Rod" bobbed forward and back, rotating his hands. A few tense seconds of silence increased the tension between them before Shira began the fight with a straight kick. Lightning Rod was barely able to dodge, but countered with a palm-strike aimed at Shira's chest, causing him to bend backwards. Just in time too, because there seemed to be a bubble of energy surrounding his opponent's hand that burst, the explosion seemingly enhanced and directed by the force of the strike. However, Shira was forced to back-flip away as his opponent had followed through with a second explosive palm-strike.

{Play: "Megalovania" from "Undertale"}

As soon as he landed, Shira leveled a venomous glare at his opponent. "Oi, oi! What the hell were in those gauntlets?!" he snapped, "I thought you said 'no weapons!'"

"There's no trick in these gauntlets." answered Lightning Rod, slipping back into a striker's stance, "They're just designed to store up electricity."

Before Shira could ask any more questions, he immediately found himself trying his hardest to avoid a barrage of palm-strikes that were aimed at various targets of opportunity on his body; shoulders and elbows were obvious enough, even more so for the head, but the easiest target of them all was his center mass. One hit, and he would probably feel more than just a bit disoriented; he'd very likely have a hole in his chest. As he dodged more strikes, he noted that his opponent always planted his feet to the ground to add more momentum to his palm-strikes; it looked to him like Lightning Rod was stomping in the sand. "The hell do you think you are, a sumo?!"

"If I were, I'd be _really_ fat." said Lightning Rod, continuing his assault.

As he kept avoiding palm-strike after palm-strike, Shira noted a pattern. His opponent was continuously on the offensive, and he himself was unable to counter; as long as Shira was on the defensive, he was eventually going to be tired out beaten down with impunity. He needed to wait for an opening in Lightning Rod's assault before he could put some space between them so that he could calm himself long enough to be able to fight back. A long enough time in this fight told him that the explosions were short-ranged, as well as the fact that the strikes were very direct.

Eventually, he would find an opening, and take advantage of it to bat away Lightning Rod's arms, and land a kick to his chest that would knock him back. With the amount of breathing room he was able to get, Shira took a calming breath as he slipped into a fighting stance. As he did, his entire body was covered in chakra; but instead of empowering his muscles, the air around him seemed to be getting quieter…if such a thing were possible. Now he could get back on the offensive.

Lightning Rod landed on both feet, moving back in to continue his attack. Fortunately for Shira, he was given more than enough time to respond. He would start his counterattack with an upwards palm strike, watching as his opponent backed away before he was grabbed by his helmet, driving the Lightning Rod's face into his knee. Certain that he was disoriented, Shira took advantage of the time to slam his fist into the Guardian's chest, hoping to break a few ribs and forcing his opponent to surrender. Unfortunately, this did not seem to last, as Lightning Rod broke free from the grapple after he forced Shira to bend backwards from what amounted to a sucker-punch with a palm-strike, and hopped back to allow a strange energy to lift him into the air; gliding backwards before performing a three-point landing.

There was no way he was going to let his opponent gain back any ground, and so Shira ran after his gliding adversary, and continued his assault upon rising from his landing. A single punch to the visor of his helmet cracked the glass, shortly before he followed through with another grapple, forcing Lightning Rod to hunch over forward to take a few knees to the chest. After breaking from the grapple again, the Guardian regained his composure and slammed both hands into Shira's chest. Surprisingly enough, as he was knocked back, Shira felt electricity being sent into his body…momentarily disrupting his muscle control as he was sent flying; fortunately, he was able to regain enough control to right himself in the air to land on both feet.

Once there was enough space between the two of them, Lightning Rod righted himself; allowing himself to recover. Shira panted as he glanced back at his opponent, his body doing its best to regain control of its muscle control. "Impressive." he said, slipping back into his stance. "You caught me off-guard there. Looks like you earned the right to be leader of this team, but I'm just getting warmed up."

"You're not the only one." agreed Shira, calming himself down to prepare to continue the fight.

Sen and Yome looked between the two combatants; there was no doubt that Lightning Rod's comrades were watching with a good amount of concern under their helmets. The next move would decide the outcome of the fight. Shira's Muon no Ken allowed him to cover himself in a cloak of chakra that silenced his movements and made it much more effective for him to perform counterattacks. It also made his feints even deadlier, as it made it easier for him to fool his opponents.

On the other hand, Lightning Rod had yet to showcase the full extent of his Raiton skills; but what they _did_ know was that this strange power of his allowed him to create a small explosion from his palms, and allow him to glide. There was nothing subtle about his fighting style; but that did not make it any less deadly. Whatever it was that he was using, it was definitely not chakra.

It was Shira who would make the first move, charging at full speed; his movements stealthy and subtle. Lightning Rod, on the other hand waited patiently for his opponent to come to him. Once the former had gotten close enough to the latter, Lightning Rod immediately began to glow as electricity seemed to be charging into his body. He hunched his upper-body forward, allowing the lightning to arc around his body before he finally stretched, a shockwave of electrical energy expanding from his body, knocking Shira back.

"Time to end this." said Lightning Rod, arcs of electricity sparking and dancing around his body. They coalesced into his hands, shortly before he pointed both palms at a recovering Shira. Lightning bolts jumped from his fingertips, striking Shira in one go as volt upon volt of electricity shot into his body. For some reason, he seemed to be teleporting all around the battlefield, electrocuting him from all directions. By the time Lightning Rod was done, Shira had collapsed to the ground in a spasming, twitching heap.

"Shira!" Sen and Yome cried together.

When it was done, Lightning Rod sent the remainder of the electricity crackling all over his body to ground before he stood over his opponent. Shira twitched and spasmed before his arms and legs dropped; he was taking very deep breaths. "Don't worry, he's still alive." he said, leaving Shira to rest on the ground. "I set my lightning to a low current but high voltage. He should be getting back up fine and dandy in a bit."

"And what would've happened if you'd used a high current?" asked a very concerned Sen.

"Pretty sure the vultures would enjoy their dinner if I did." answered Lightning Bolt, turning to face Sen and Yome with the broken visor of his helmet as he picked his weapons back up. "Seriously though, a we won the bet. As agreed, we get your piece of the parchment."

Yome was reached into her pocket. She held it in both hands and was about to…

"Don't do it, Yome." hissed Shira, struggling to get back up. "We lost, fair and square."

There was reluctance in her grip. "I'd listen to him," Lightning Rod sang, his hand drifting dangerously close to his golden weapon. As though to emphasize his warning, Armor-girl, and Big-Game Hunter's grips tightened on their weapons. "The second you destroy that parchment, we're gonna have to kill all three of you. And believe me, I don't want to do that to you."

She was shaking; wondering what to do. After finally coming to a decision, Yome released one hand from the parchment and reluctantly handed it to Lightning Rod. Once he was done, he pulled out his own piece of parchment, placing the two sheets together and spreading them out. Within seconds, the seals kicked into action; brush strokes began to appear on the map, detailing the borders of the desert and the landmarks first, followed by the location of the tower in the middle of the desert. Soon, lines marking where the groundwater veins would be located began crisscrossing the map while black dots began to spread out at random intervals…but what caught everyone's attention was the red dot.

"Ghost, you ready?" asked Lighting Rod. Team Shira wondered exactly who he was talking to.

Without warning, a small machine appeared out of nowhere, hovering near his shoulder. It then moved forward, before looking downwards with its single eye. A bright, conical blue light was emitted from its eye, as it moved around the map as it seemed to take in every detail. When it was finished, shining the light all over the map, the machine turned it off before turning to face Lightning Rod.

"I've got it." it said, much to the shock of Team Shira, "We're ready to go."

Lightning Rod folded up both halves of the map. "Now we no longer need them." he said, offering them to an awestruck Team Shira. "Though you're going to need that map more than we will."

Sen and Yome both took one half of the map gingerly as Lightning Rod reached into his coat to pull out three supply scrolls. "Here, you're also going to need these." he said, handing them to Shira.

"Why the hospitality?" asked Shira, hesitant to take the scrolls, "We lost. We don't deserve any of these."

"The way you fought reminded me of a friend I once knew," said Lightning Rod, as his helmet repaired itself, "He couldn't use ninjutsu _or_ genjutsu; and yet, he was able to hold his own against the Kazekage during the Chūnin Exams in Konohagakure no Sato with nothing but taijutsu. Unsurprisingly, he lost; but that didn't diminish my respect for him, _or_ for the hard work he had put in to become as great as he was. I guess you could say that I have respect for you now…and these scrolls are a reward for being a worthy opponent."

As he took this in, Shira felt more confident to accept the scrolls; but only one question remained: "Won't you need those?"

"We can always hunt for our food," said Armor-girl, lowering her weapon. "Don't worry about us."

Shira took a deep breath, reaching out to grab the scrolls. As he pocketed them, he turned to face Lightning Rod with a confident expression. "You and I are going to have a rematch in the future…and when that happens, I'm going to turn you in to the authorities for sure."

"Looking forward to it." said Lightning Rod, turning around. A single nod had told his companions it was time to go. The three of them holstered their weapons, reaching out to their sides as their streamlined steeds appeared out of thin air.

"Wait!" called Shira, just as the three of them mounted their steeds, "What's your friend's name?"

"I called him Gejimayu," answered the Guardian, "and if you see him, you'll know why."

"What about yours?"

"Technically, my name is classified," explains Lightning Rod, "but you can call me 'Mahōtsukai', or 'Mahō' for short."

"My codename is 'Kyojin'." adds Armor-girl.

"I'm Kariudo." finishes Big-Game Hunter.

Before anyone else could say a word, the Guardians sped away on their streamlined vehicles. Team Shira was left behind in the dust, wondering exactly how advanced the Guardians were.

* * *

{Play: "Overtaken" from "One Piece}

[Outside the Ma no Sabaku]

"Ha! I win! Pay up!" jeered Minato, his eyes still looking through his scope. He reached his hand out to the left, expecting to get his Glimmer.

Kurama snorted, looking through her own. "Technically, neither of us won because while a fight _did_ start, you said you were only going to pay if all six of them fought."

"You're just saying that because you're a sore loser! Now pay up!"

"Again, it doesn't count." growled Kurama, her voice taking on a dangerous tone, "It was a draw, so let. It. Go."

Minato sighed in exasperation. Sometimes the Bijū would be unreasonable when it came to honoring her bets. "Fine, but I get to make the next bet; double or nothing."

"1,200 glimmer? _Now_ it's getting interesting."

"Yeah? Well wait until I make the bet." warned Minato.

A moment of silence passed between them as Minato and Kurama followed Naruto's fireteam through their scopes. "So Kurama, I've been wondering," said Minato, keeping his eye on Naruto's progress, "is Naruto _really_ going to do what I think he will?"

Minato could feel the equivalent of a witty grin on the female Exo model's face. "Why ask, when I'm pretty sure you already know the answer?" she asked cattily.

"I guess I wanted to make sure." Minato admitted, "It's not everyday that you learn that your son is planning a preemptive strike on the enemy's doorstep. Though I wonder if he's cutting the head off the right snake."

"Right or wrong snake, that strike's success should be more than enough to buy us some time." Kurama assured, "At the very least, with the majority of the Akatsuki's command taken out of the picture, we can at least use the intelligence we've collected to get the other Jinchūriki their Ghosts. We may even be able to free my brothers and sisters and get them good and proper Exo bodies and Ghosts."

"We're going to need every Guardian we can get." agreed Minato, "The Darkness is out there, waiting for our next move. For all we know, it may already have an agent in this world; waiting to strike when we least expect it."

"Right, right." Kurama dismissed. Minato had not said anything new; after being made into a Guardian, she found a new purpose in life. Still, she felt the need to change the subject. "So, the rumors I've been hearing are true?"

"What rumors?" asked Minato without taking his attention off his scope.

"That the Traveler is coming."

* * *

 _ **A/N: The Traveler is coming here? When? How? I'm not telling. Though I wonder what Minato will be betting 1,200 glimmer on…? Anyway, a round of applause to Soleneus for being there for the first part of this chapter. So please review our works, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

* * *

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Mahō—it's short for "Mahōtsukai" or "warlock" in Japanese, but the word itself (**_ _ **魔法**_ _ **) means "sorcery".**_

 _ **Gejimayu—the nickname means "centipede eyebrows", but in English, we know him as "Bushy Brows" for very obvious reasons.**_

* * *

 _ **References**_

 _ **Butterfly exposition—pretty much based on Locke's speech to Charlie in "Lost"**_

 _ **The supply scroll contents—based on old WWII emergency rations carried by pilots.**_


	12. The Relic

_**A/N: And now we have another confrontation in the desert; this time over the mysterious and explosive relic. Hopefully, this is up to par. Do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

* * *

[Ma no Sabaku, Day 3]

(Team Gai)

The howling of the wind could be heard as the sandstorm kicked up particulates everywhere before it slowly died, revealing a form that stood resolute through the maelstrom. Rising out of the sea of sand was a trio of triangular pillars surrounding a shorter column in an equilateral triangle, giving the impression of an outdoor temple or a massive shrine. Jutting out of the central column was a hand-sized triangular stone with intricate markings upon its surface; unlike the structures of densely-compacted sandstone that surrounded it, this smooth and shiny stone was of a green so dark that it was almost black. This was the relic that all teams in the Chūnin Exams were to hunt for.

Legends told tales of these relics which were made by the ancients to empower jutsu, as well as to readily fuel the more high-powered ones such as the difficult-to-master Kuchiyose no Jutsu. Years of experimentation had culminated in the creation of triangular prisms made of crystallized chakra that were capable of storing vast amounts of the energy within, and could be reused so long as they were charged with chakra. They were also reportedly a lot safer than the meteorite that was the catalyst of the Hoshigakure Incident; this was because the cores were able to hold chakra without letting it leak out and killing its handlers with chakra poisoning.

However, as Temari had pointed out earlier in the exam, the biggest issue with the 'chakra cores' ironically lay with safety. The idea behind the chakra core's invention was indeed a sound concept, and they _did_ do as they were intended; in execution, the cores wound up costing the ancients a lot of manpower. This was due to the fact that the cores had a rapidly weakening molecular structure, and the highly reactive properties of their contents served to exacerbate the problem; therefore, while the handlers were safe from chakra poisoning, they always risked death from randomly exploding cores. There were tales of chakra cores being kept safely away from the front lines during testing, taking out entire villages randomly. In the end, the chakra core prototypes were scrapped and kept hidden in the Ma no Sabaku for safety's sake.

"How's it looking, Neji?" asked Tenten.

Neji's Byakugan was active, the distance the team was away from the relic was stretching the limits of how far his dōjutsu could see. Near the structure was a tall rock formation, providing both an opportunity for rest and to refill on water. "I can only tell you so much at this distance; but suffice to say, I have a pretty good idea what we're going to be fighting the second we charge the relic."

"Anything in the area we should worry about?" asked Lee.

"Aside from the giant -likely venomous- ants nearby that will attack us as soon as we charge the relic? No…" began Neji, his train of thought interrupted by something else, "Wait a minute; on second thought, we do."

"Who?" asked Tenten.

"The Guardians are camped out at the rock formation." said Neji with his Byakugan working at overdrive, "They're looking through their weapons, and they're aiming down on the shrine."

"Are they planning on killing anyone?" asked Lee. Just yesterday, they'd run into a Sunagakure team that had a run-in with the Guardians on the first day. In a bet to see who would win what they needed, one of the Guardians defeated the leader of Team Shira in a duel, and had a talking machine called a 'Ghost' copy the map. After that, the Guardians left them their map and supply scrolls before speeding away into the desert.

It was no surprise then that the Guardians had managed to get to a shrine first. But what shocked Lee however, was the fact that the team leader Shira said that the Guardian with the Konoha hitai-ate knew about him. He spoke of his battle with Sabaku no Gaara in the Konoha Chūnin Exams as though he were there to witness it himself. Even more disturbing was that Shira had told him that the Guardian said they were friends, and had called him 'Gejimayu'; a nickname given to him by only one person…someone that had died a long time ago.

How this Guardian knew all this, was anybody's guess; but Lee had determined that he would find him, and grill him for answers. He would see what he knew about Uzumaki Naruto. _Yosh! The Flames of Youth smile upon me! I will have an opportunity for that after all!_

"Not yet, I think; they're just sitting there, waiting and…" Neji was cut off as he gasped in shock.

Tenten wondered exactly what was wrong. Neji was normally not one to surprise so easily. "What?" she asked.

"The armored Guardian; she sees me." he said, "I can even feel her gaze upon us."

"No surprise," said Tenten, "those weapons had telescopes mounted on them."

"No, hers doesn't have one; she's just looking at me through a flat, rectangular piece of metal."

This caught Tenten's attention. _That armored Guardian doesn't need a scope? How is this possible? Unless…_ "You think she's using a dōjutsu?" she asked.

"That's the only explanation." agreed Neji. "Though it's as if she's asking us to go get that relic. It's not like I'm going to fall for it, though."

All things considered, Lee and Tenten could see why. According to Temari, the animals of the desert would come in droves after anything that charged the relic—likely due to the possibility of prey being nearby. With their superior position and their backs to the wall, the Guardians could pick them off, grab the relic once it's charged and leave them to deal with the wildlife within the span of half an hour. Though the _real_ question on everyone's mind was _why_ didn't they activate the seal themselves? It was clear from Shira's duel that the one his team dubbed 'Lighting Rod' was using what appeared to be a high level of Raiton control…which meant that the Guardians were anything but ordinary, and were possibly shinobi. If that's the case, then why were they resorting to theft?

After a moment of silence, Tenten shook off her thoughts. With Neji the only one capable of keeping an eye on the Guardians, somebody needed to take control of the team. "Neji, have they moved from their spot?" she asked.

"No, but they are all paying attention to us now." he answered.

"Lee, do we still have the map?"

"Yosh! I have it, Tenten-chan!" barked Lee.

"Then let's spread it out." said Tenten.

Lee nodded. He took out the pieces of parchment, and six small and heavy rocks he'd been carrying. Once the pieces of parchment were overlaid, he quickly placed the rocks on six places to ensure the wind did not carry them away. The brush strokes inscribed themselves upon the two pieces of parchment, revealing the location of all the other shrines. The red dot revealed their current location.

Tenten sighed in disappointment as she looked back up at Lee. "It doesn't look like we have any other choice. There _are_ other shrines, but they're too far away and we're short on time. There's no guarantee that any of them still have their relics; and even if we _do_ get to another one, we may have wasted time and supplies just to walk into the same situation miles away. We have a golden opportunity here…but we have to be fast, or else the Guardians will swoop in and take the relic first."

* * *

(Naruto's Fireteam)

"C'mon guys…don't take this relic." sang Naruto, looking through the scope of his sniper rifle. "Just leave and go somewhere else…there are other relics out there, so _please_ don't take this one…"

They'd been staying at that particular rock formation, keeping an eye open on the shrine for potential teams to steal the relic from for the past two days. Guardians could go on a stakeout for years if necessary, only stopping out of sheer boredom. This was because being powered by the Light would eliminate all needs of the flesh: hunger was a thing of the past; sleep was no longer a necessity; wounds would heal up rather quickly; even the desire for restroom breaks was completely erased.

However, just because they no longer needed the necessities that drove them in life, did not mean that there were invisible necessities that had to be addressed. This was because Guardians still had the ability to feel sensations as physical as pain, and mental and emotional as fear. Therefore, Guardians still required the odd psychiatrist session to ensure their state of mind was still in good working order; lest there be a repeat of the actions of fallen Guardians such as Dredgen Yor. And to further boost morale, Guardians were allowed some downtime between missions to savor the things they enjoyed in life as a luxury. As a result, Guardians in Nami no Kuni did things such as visit their families before going on patrol; enjoy a cup of good sake with some sushi without getting drunk or stuffed; even go out on dates that may or may not end up in a night of pure bliss.

"You sound like you don't want to fight this team." said Haku, keeping the sights of her own sniper rifle trained on the Konoha team. It was customized to enable her to acquire targets faster.

"Team Nine is among the genin teams that have shown promise." explained Hinata. "Naruto-kun and I used to be part of an alumni of genin known as the Konoha Twelve…of which, Uchiha Sayuri was also a part of."

"They're your friends?" asked Haku.

"Yeah. I guess you could say that." Naruto replied quietly. "Though with any luck, they'll just move on to the next relic. I _really_ don't want to have to fight them and…ah shit, spoke too soon."

It was indeed the case of speaking too soon; Team Nine had decided to proceed to the shrine…in spite of Neji warning them of their presence. _In a way, I guess I should applaud them,_ thought Naruto dryly, _those guys are willing to brave death for a chance to pass these exams. Not like it's gonna matter._

"What are our orders?" Haku asked Naruto, the de-facto leader of the fireteam.

"We wait for them to activate the shrine," Naruto began, taking the surroundings into consideration, "When they do, we help them out a bit. The second our snipers run dry, we're going fight our way past the ants to snatch the relic…when we do this, auto-rifles and machine guns would be a good choice; and if you are any good in your mob-clearing subclasses, I would recommend that you get them ready. After that, we get the hell out of there."

"Naruto-kun, what if they get away with the relic?" asked Hinata.

"Then we go find someone else that managed to get it." Naruto continued, watching as Lee took off his weights. "Make no mistake, Fū is our main priority…if we cross paths, then we have to drop everything else to follow her. The relic is only an insurance policy so that we can get to the next stage without much trouble, and therefore making it easier for us to protect her."

"That assumes nothing goes wrong." Haku reminded curtly. "So what are we going to do with our relic if something happens to stop these exams?"

"Well we can always use more explosives, now can't we?" Naruto asked, a tinge of dark humor in his voice. "But going back to our getaway, the second one of us gets the relic, we need to move _really_ fast. Lee's gonna be a lot faster without his leg weights, possibly to the point of catching up to us on our Sparrows; so the second he's in pursuit of one of us, we split up, try to shake him off and meet back at the central tower. If any of us cross paths with Fū, then we lead her and her team to that tower."

As the three of them readied their loadouts for the task at hand, they watched as Team Nine approached the shrine. Naruto's white auto-rifle had a large, sword-like bayonet extending from below its barrel and the clean designs gave it the impression that it belonged to a rich man. Haku stuck with her pulse rifle, preferring the balance of accuracy and firepower that it provided; it also helped that it too had a bayonet. Hinata exchanged her sniper for a different, more common model, and chose a blocky, black weapon with a round, glowing core in the middle…she would however, open the first salvo with her rocket launcher.

Once their loadouts were prepared, it was time to prepare their subclasses for the fight ahead. Haku allowed the strong pull of Void Light fill their senses, as she remembered the archery lessons she had to pick up in order to use her Shadow Shot. Hinata chose to allow Solar Light to warm her body, feeling the explosive power of the Hammer of Sol reinforcing her will. Naruto kept the electric feeling of Arc Light in his body; his mastery as a Stormcaller would be most helpful in mowing down multiple ants at once.

Now they were ready to handle the ants.

* * *

(Team Gai)

The area was quiet…but that would change the second they charged the relic. Team Gai inspected their surroundings, and found that the pillars had a circular indentation on each surface facing the relic. They were supposedly capable of absorbing ambient chakra from their surroundings then transferring it to the relic, though how that happened was a mystery in itself.

Strangely enough, the Guardians had held off on attacking Team Gai. Perhaps their suspicions were right on; they were waiting for them to activate the shrine. If they were going to get their hands on the relic, they had to be fast; lest they be eaten by the ants in the middle of the chaos.

Neji activated his Byakugan, having a good look at the engineering skill of the ancients. It appeared that the indentation was actually a switch of some kind that required someone to press it in order for the charging to take place. An experimental push elicited a loud hum that died out rather quickly. His dōjutsu had revealed that pillar did indeed work, but the circuitry of the pillars were all linked together…leading to a realization. "Looks like we're going to have to each take one pillar, and then press the switches all at the same time." he said, "After that, we're going to have to cover each other's backs. If these ants are smart, they're likely to surround us, so one way or another, we're going to have to fight our way out."

Tenten and Lee nodded as they took position in front of their respective pillars. Both knew how dangerous these ants were; a run-in with Team Kurenai on the first day had Aburame Shiina telling them that the ants that lived here were a gigantic species of army ant. They did not build nests, but instead roved around the desert in search of prey to serve up to their queen. Neji's long-distance view of such an attack from afar was gruesome to say the least; suffice to say, that team never saw the ants coming.

"On the count of three, we're all going to press our switches." Neji began, deactivating his Byakugan while getting a "Ready!" from Tenten, and a "On your mark!" from Lee. The three of them had to time this just right, or else they'd be wasting time.

"Now!"

At that command, Lee, Tenten and Neji all pressed their respective switches at the same time. The synchronized action of each pillar began, causing them to glow a very lively green as they began to absorb ambient chakra from the environment. As it was being charged, the chakra core started taking on a very dull green luster; it would not begin to take on a full glow until it was filled with chakra. Thankfully, whoever it was that designed the chakra absorption feature in the pillars made it such that they did not absorb chakra from living beings.

{Play: "End of the Line" by Marty O'Donnel and Michael Salvatore from "Destiny"}

This did not mean that Team Gai was going to let it lie as they all prepared for the upcoming onslaught. Neji readied his Byakugan as he watched his targets arriving from the distance, his Jūken would complement Lee's Gōken as the last line of defense. Lee made sure to thoroughly stretch himself to ensure he was more limber, lest he be eaten all because he had a cramp. Tenten's storage scrolls were pulled out of their holsters, ready to throw their contents in all directions and fight with them should things get too close for comfort. As they waited, tensions were high; it would take more than an adrenaline rush to survive this.

In the distance, one could make out a tide of bright tan climbing up the dunes before running down as a massive tsunami. The mass of giant army ants were covered in black exoskeletons, indicative of their status as workers judging by their large numbers. Each worker was about the size of a large mastiff, each with a deadly sting. Within the wave, there were larger ants of an off-white color, their massive, sickle-like mandibles designating them as soldiers. One could feel the sense of desperation in that swarm…there were many mouths to feed, and a queen to please.

It was time for action. As the massive swarm of ants made it halfway towards the shrine, Team Gai watched as two purple lights came streaking down from the sky, hitting two ants and engulfing multitudes of them in purple explosions. Everyone's trained eyes had quickly followed the trajectory of the purple lights, seeing that they had come from the rock formation—making it obvious as to who it was that was firing upon them. Neji's Byakugan had revealed that the armored guardian was operating a complicated mechanism on her weapon to open it, before placing a small cylinder into a slot and closing it back up. She then took aim at another mass of ants, and fired twice, destroying more ants in massive explosions.

"I don't understand it, why are they helping us?" Tenten asked, shaking off her glee at seeing the Guardians' weapons at work.

"We can ask them later," said Neji, as two more masses of ants were engulfed in purple explosions. "Right now, we need to get ready. I have a feeling that as soon as their weapons are empty, they're going to be coming down; and when they do, we need to be ready to fight them off."

Lee and Tenten nodded. The ants continued their charge, as the opportunity for food was far too good to resist; they would not have ignored the death of so many other ants otherwise. Lee chose to stay behind with Neji to save his stamina for bashing ant heads in. Tenten took to the sky, her storage scrolls spiraling upwards into the air with her; the increased height would increase the speed and accuracy of her weapons as they rained down upon the ants.

Every weapon that was summoned from each scroll was promptly thrown into the swarm. Getting surrounded was inevitable, even with the Guardians adding their firepower to the mix. If Tenten could delay it as long as possible, the three of them would have a more even chance of fighting their way out of the swarm. As she threw volley after volley of weapons, blades of all shapes and sizes found their way into the armored body of every ant that came their way: daggers penetrating heads; tanto pinning legs down; the odd spear or two impaling abdomens.

From the other side of the battlefield, Neji noted that the armored Guardian had switched out her massive TV camera-like weapon for one of the scoped weapons. After that, the three of them began to open fire with pinpoint accuracy, sending what he saw as small, metal spikes into the head of every ant. With every headshot, some of the ants exploded in an orange light, taking many of their comrades with them. Some of them were engulfed in a non-lethal explosion, effectively hitting them all with what amounted to a flashbang seal.

After the number of ants had been thinned down, the inevitable had happened; the ants were nearing melee range. Tenten had lowered herself to the ground, and readied a pair of tonfa that she'd reinforced with steel to make them more effective at smashing through bone and armor. From this point on, it would put her close-combat skills to the test. However, the Guardians did not stop firing; but the fact that they were choosing their targets more carefully was a sign that they were running out of ammunition.

* * *

(Naruto's Fireteam)

{Play: "Light is Green" from "Halo 5"}

"I'm out!" Naruto declared, his sniper rifle running out of ammunition.

"So am I." Hinata added, her own sniper clicking as a result.

"Just one more…" drawled Haku, before pulling the trigger on her sniper rifle. "There. Now I'm out."

"All right ladies! You know the music, time to dance!" said Naruto, drawing his white autorifle. "Hinata, you ready to go?"

"Locked and loaded." she said, readying the bolt to her autorifle.

"Haku?"

"Standing by." Haku answered, her pulse rifle ready for battle at all ranges.

Naruto nodded. Now was the time to attack! "Then let's go!"

The three Guardians began their charge; running off the top of the cliff. The two of them followed, free-falling onto a dune. As they fell in midair, they each summoned a grenade and began throwing them. Haku readied a Voidwall grenade, and tossed it ahead of the ants to create a burning wall of Void light that cut them off from reinforcements; Naruto's Storm grenade was sent down upon a random mass of ants, frying another cluster of them with over a thousand volts; Hinata's Thermite Grenade landed in another section of the swarm, clearing out another line as it fired wave after wave of searing hot flames.

As they neared the ground, Naruto drew his weapon. The next words he let out would begin a wholesale slaughter of ants: "Weapons free!"

Naruto activated his ability to glide at the last moment, allowing him to slide down the dune until he managed to find his footing to begin running. Hinata's landing was a little harder, as was Haku's, but both were able to catch up. As they ran into the swarm of ants, the three of them began discharging their weapons, gunning down the gigantic insects with a hail of gunfire as they cut a swath through the swarm.

Their target was the shrine, and the relic. To that end, they did everything they could to clear a path…to the point of even unleashing their ultimate arts. Naruto lost himself in his Stormtrance, vaporizing multiple ants around him in one go, simply by summoning the lighting. He would then use the power of his Light to enhance the abilities of his lightning as a superconductor, making him into an even more efficient bug-zapper. The second he did this, he would give his fellow fireteam members an extra boost of light to use their own ultimate arts as he sent many watts of electricity into the ants, causing some of them to explode.

Sometimes Hinata would find the time to summon the Hammer of Sol, and began tossing exploding hammers at multiple patches of ants. Whenever she ran out of hammers to throw, she would switch back to using her auto-rifle, punching away at ants that got too close for comfort. She was also able to punch ants more repeatedly, partially due to her muscle-memory bringing back the reflexes that came with years of Jūken training.

Haku's Shadowshot was modified specifically to cause enemies killed while tethered to explode, further thinning out the horde of ants. Her liberal use of envenomed Smoke bombs and Voidwall grenades would help weaken the swarm. Whenever an ant got too close for comfort, she would impale them upon the bayonet of her pulse rifle or knife them in the head.

Thankfully, as they got closer to the shrine, the number of ants began to get even thinner as Team Nine had managed to cut down their number by the time the Guardians got in close. Naruto leaped over the swarm of ants, and made a dash for the relic; it was glowing a very lively green, indicating that was fully-charged. The problem was that there were still plenty of ants to cut down…sure, a whole mass of them were slain along the way, but they still numbered in the hundreds. Not to mention that they were surrounded anyway.

By the time the Guardians had made it to the shrine, they could briefly see the slaughter along the way. Seeing their arrival, Team Nine wound up making a move for the relic. Thankfully, with a well-timed Shadowstep, Haku was able to manage a running start and grab the relic in a quick bound. "Let's go!" she shouted over the comms as she rolled back up.

At those two words, Naruto and Hinata tossed their grenades into the swarm of ants before attempting to back up Haku. Seeing as their prey was fighting back to this degree, the remaining army ants chose to flee and lick their proverbial wounds. They'd lost too many of their number, and this prey was too strong…it just wasn't worth it when something like a giant scorpion was a better choice for their queen.

Sadly, fate had other plans as Lee managed to kick the relic out of Haku's hand, sending it flying in Neji's direction. Before Hyūga Prodigy could grab it, Hinata slugged him across the face and snatched the relic in midair before tossing it to Naruto. After catching it, Naruto turned to face Tenten driving the tip of her sword to his throat; in return, he summoned his own sword and brought it down just in time to break hers, recovering long enough in an attempt to pommel her in the face. Ducking under the swing, Tenten managed to quickly grab the relic and tossed it back to Lee only to watch as Haku caught it before elbowing him in the face. Naruto came running, caught the relic from Haku as she performed a Shadowstep to barely avoid being attacked by Neji; once the prism was firmly in his grasp, he summoned his Sparrow while having his Ghost appear quickly to put it in storage before disappearing in the chaos.

{Play: "Derezzed" by Daft Punk, from "Tron: Legacy"}

Seeing that Naruto was already speeding away, Hinata and Haku immediately summoned their own Sparrows and made to follow him. The three of them jet across the desert towards the central tower, the head start granted by their sudden escape. None of them dared to look back. "We did it!" cheered Haku, raising her arm in celebration.

"Don't count on it," Naruto cautioned, "we're not out of the woods yet."

Remembering exactly what Naruto had said earlier, everyone in the fireteam turned their heads. Sure enough, there was a large cloud of sand that was being kicked up behind them. There was no doubt in their minds that Rock Lee was in hot pursuit…and much to their surprise, he was actually _gaining_ on them. What the Guardians _didn't_ expect was Neji and Tenten hopping long distances over the sand trying to keep up with his pace. All Lee had to do was to catch up, knock one of them off their Sparrow, and they'd be at the mercy of a -likely angry- Team Nine.

"Ladies, remember what we planned." Naruto reminded. Haku and Hinata nodded to each other as they adjusted their speeds to line up with Naruto. Their Ghosts appearing over their shoulders.

* * *

(Team Gai)

As his feet kicked up sand behind him with every running step, Lee watched as the Guardians lined up side-by-side with each other. Whatever it was they were planning to do involved the tiny machines that hovered over their shoulders that Shira said were called 'Ghosts'. Just as quickly as they came together, their Ghosts disappeared and the three of them separated; but that was just fine. After the Kirigakure Incident, the Hokage had issued a 'capture on sight' order to every Konoha shinobi for Guardians, ordering them to, if possible, capture any Guardian they ran into alive so that they could be interrogated.

 _After what I've heard yesterday about that Guardian with the Konoha hitai-ate, I would've brought him in whether there was an order for it or not._ thought Lee, keeping that particular Guardian in his sights. With any luck, they would be able to at least capture one of them…and perhaps get their relic back.

Knowing Neji and Tenten were going to be behind him on this, Lee had hopes that he would be able to at least pin down his quarry until they were able to catch up and team up on them. Right now, the only one they _really_ wanted was the Guardian in the leather coat and the Konoha hitai-ate. It was as much their duty, as it was a personal affair that they -at least- attempted to capture him…maybe even unmask him.

With every stride he took, Lee was thankful that Gai-sensei had made sure to train his stamina in such a way that he could run this fast for hours on end, as the Guardian did everything in his power to try and shake him off. This included adjusting his breathing in order to get the most out of every breath he took, as well as running up and down hills and stairs with weights attached to strengthen his air circulation and his heart. Overall, it seemed like the Flames of Youth had been burning for this very moment; where he would take down a Guardian and then interrogate him.

Adrenaline fueled his system, as he let out a burst of energy. Lee had to be careful; he had to time his jump just right, or else the worst-case scenario was that he'd be set alight by the machine's burning exhaust. He also had to take the strength of his jump into consideration lest he overshot and was rammed. So many things had to go right for this to work, but he had a lot of confidence in himself to do this. Besides, with the adrenaline rush fueling his run, he was able to close the distance quickly and increase his odds of success…however, this didn't mean that he didn't have backup plans should his initial jump go wrong.

After getting close enough, Lee suddenly stopped into a brief crouch. He could feel the tension in his leg muscles building up, the risk of damage being the only tradeoff to this; bone, and sinew working in tandem with muscle fibers to act as a high-powered spring. It took all of six milliseconds for him to release the spring, sending him flying at his target. His arm was outreached, attempting to grab the Guardian by the collar of his greatcoat…only to miss and overshoot. However, this did not deter him in the slightest; as soon as he landed, he rebounded off a nearby rock, and stretched his leg out just in time for his opponent to almost crash into him. "Dynamic Entry!"

The Guardian was taken by surprise as Lee had kicked him in the face, causing him to lose control of his vehicle and sending it crashing into a nearby cliff. The Guardian himself bounced along the sand a few times before he landed in a roll. He got back up groaning, clearly injured but alive. From what Lee could tell, he should've at least been suffering from a few broken ribs and a sore neck by now…to say nothing of the literal headache he was likely having. "Damn, you really kick hard." he said, cracking his neck back into place.

Fortunately, Neji and Tenten were not too far away. All Lee had to do now was to subdue the Guardian, maybe dislocate his shoulders until they could ensure he couldn't get away. Sure, this was Sakura-chan's personal mission too, but he was certain she would appreciate the help.

"Who are you?" asked Lee, "And what are you people doing here in these exams?"

"I'm just your average Warlock-class Guardian, trying to make the world a better place." answered the Guardian.

"That's not all, and you know it." Lee sniped curtly, "The Guardians have not interfered often in the affairs of the Shinobi Nations…much less in a Chūnin Exam. It would be most youthful if you would tell me why _exactly_ you are here."

There was a moment of silence between them. The 'Warlock' simply slipped into a fighting stance, his hands stretched out into claws…the tiger fist. Was he truly going to fight in his condition? From the resolve in his stance, Lee let out a huff and shrugged his shoulders in a manner that said 'your funeral'. "It's un-youthful to be fighting someone as injured as you are; but If that's how you want to do this, then so be it. I'll beat the answers out of you."

The Warlock began the fight, a palm-strike aimed at Lee's torso. Knowing what Shira had said about the energy surrounding the Guardian's hands whenever he fought, he dodged the attack and landed punches in his opponent's rib cage, further breaking them. He also had to make sure that the so-called 'Lightning Rod' didn't live up to his nickname and use his Raiton mastery in this fight. This meant throwing him over his shoulder, and keeping him locked down with close-contact grappling. The match immediately went to ground as Lee dislocated the Warlock's shoulder, earning a pained groan from the Guardian as he began punching away at the visor of his opponent's helmet. After six punches dented the helmet, the Warlock caught Lee's fist and tripped him with a leg sweep before sheathing his hand in that explosive energy, and causing him to regain enough of his balance to hop away just in time to avoid having his face pulped by the force of the explosion.

The Guardian managed to get back up on his feet, just before he grabbed his upper-arm and popped his shoulder back in its place. In a way, Lee could not help but admire the Warlock's tenacity—even if he was outclassed in taijutsu, he was going to flee with his comrades by any means necessary. Once the Warlock readied himself to continue the fight, he ran forward while summoning his massive blade and bringing it down in an attempt to bisect him with a two-handed grip. Lee stepped aside before ducking under a swing aimed for his neck and back-flipping away from the downward swing that followed through. Seeing an opening, Lee dashed forward, grabbed the Warlock's sword as he recovered, and landed another punch in his visor that not only sent him flying just past Neji and Tenten, but also shattered it as he bounced several times before landing face-down on the sandy ground.

As Team Gai stood together, they took the opportunity to have a look at their opponent as he stood back up while massaging his head, an "aw shit" muttered under his breath. All three of them were dumbstruck as they took in familiar features that included short and spiky, sun-kissed hair and lively cerulean eyes. That all flew out the window with the most distinguishing feature of all—the dead giveaway as to the identity of the Guardian: three vulpine whisker-marks on each cheek.

"I really wish you guys didn't see that." said the Guardian, kneeling to pick up his sword."Then again, I suppose it was inevitable. You really _do_ deserve to be chūnin…all three of you."

There was a wide range of emotions running through each member of Team Gai as they silently studied the Guardian's facial features. Joy, horror, even a tinge of anger were mixed in with the confusion that predominated their minds. It would take a few seconds before the awkward silence was broken. "Naruto-kun?" asked Tenten in a haunted voice, eyes still wide in bewilderment, mouth agog. The only response she got was a silent nod of affirmation.

"How is this possible?" Neji asked, obviously trying to piece everything together in his mind. "You're supposed to be dead."

"And I was," Naruto replied, a casual tone in his voice as he dispelled his sword. "I'd been for about a week after Sayuri killed me. After that, I was brought back to life."

Lee was the first to shake off the mess of emotions. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said, his voice taking on a more serious and official tone, "You are wanted for about two years' worth of vigilantism, and going rogue for about that long. One way or another, you're going to come back with us to Konoha for interrogation."

Naruto grunted in amusement, as he flexed his fists. "I'm afraid that's not going to happen."

"Then we'll have to take you home by force." Tenten said, reluctance in her voice as she summoned a kusarigama into her hands. Neji silently slipped into the half-bow stance of the Jūken practitioner.

The tension was thick between Team Gai and Naruto. They had to tread carefully when fighting him; according to Team Shira, he was able to manipulate the current of his electricity in such a manner that he was able to switch from a non-lethal paralyzing shock, to frying his enemies with megawatts of electricity. They already saw he was capable of the latter, and by Shira's account he was just as capable of pulling off the former; why he hadn't drawn any of his weapons was a mystery. One way or another, the first move would decide everything.

And with a single battlecry, Team Gai charged forward. Naruto waited patiently…no doubt to wait until they were too close before he was able to truly call upon his Raiton mastery. As Lee leaped forward, Naruto called upon the lightning at the last minute and knocking him back in that single moment. Tenten sent the weight of her kusarigama flying towards him only to watch as he practically performed a shunshin, reappeared in front of her, and sent low-current electricity into her body. Once she hit the ground, Neji was able to strike Naruto in 64 tenketsu points rapidly from behind, hoping to stun him so that they would have an easier time of transporting him. His hopes were dashed as soon as Naruto turned around, grabbed him in the face, and electrocuted him with low-current electricity. After seeing Lee attempting to land a flying axe-kick on his head, Naruto teleported behind him, and electrocuted him…causing all of Team Gai to lay on the ground in heaps of twitching flesh.

Once he was satisfied with his victory, Naruto stretched his neck before striding towards Team Nine. As soon as he neared them, he waited for all three of their muscle spasms to settle down before he flipped them all onto their backs and rested them all comfortably on a rock. Sure enough, when he was certain that he had their attention, he squat in front of them, pinning them all down with his gaze. They could see no end to the sincerity remorse in those blue pools.

"For what it's worth, I'd like nothing more than to go on home to Konoha." he began, reluctance heavy in his voice. "I _really_ want to catch up with all of you guys, and see everyone that cared about me again. I want to settle down, and have a few bowls of Ichiraku-ossan's ramen with Tsunade-baachan yelling at me. But unfortunately, I can't afford to; at least not yet. Not when I have a mission so important that's in the best interest of everyone in the world that I complete it. But I promise you; as soon as I'm done, we're celebrating our reunion―and I won't take no for an answer."

After saying his piece, Naruto stood up. There was a white glow that surrounded his head as he summoned his mechanical vehicle while also doing the same for his helmet. "You guys won't be like this for long." he continued, looking down at them. "I'm guessing it'll take within half an hour before you're all ready to go. When you do, there's a shrine just south of here; with any luck, there's no animals waiting for you. After that, it should be within a day's hop towards the tower from there."

As he turned his vehicle, Neji managed to regain the use of his vocal cords. "Naruto! Wait!"

Naruto paused momentarily to look down at Neji. His silence was from waiting for what he had to ask. "Is it true? Is Hinata one of the Guardians?"

There was a snort from Naruto. "Why ask a question that you already know the answer to?"

Neji's eyes widened in realization as Naruto finally sped away into the desert…never to be seen again for a while.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Oh dear, Naruto's identity has been revealed. I wonder how much more seriously Konoha's going to chase after him now.**_

 _ **Wow, barring the A/N and the music inserts, this is probably the longest chapter yet. One way or another, do leave a classy review would you kindly?**_

 _ **And please, give a round of applause to Soleneus for his help on this chapter.**_

* * *

 _ **References:**_

 _ **The Army Ants—pretty much Eciton burchellii army ants that are each roughly the size of a rather large mastiff. The soldiers are roughly the size of a pony.**_

" _ **You know the music, time to dance!"—from "Halo 3: ODST", Edward Buck says this.**_


	13. Close Call

_**A/N: And now, we conclude the Ma no Sabaku arc. Enough said. Do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy.**_

* * *

[Ma no Sabaku, Night 3]

It was a very quiet night, as the the Ma no Sabaku became very placid with the drop in temperature. Were one to listen carefully, they'd hear the sound of life among the sands. The skittering of giant army ants on the warpath with rival colonies; titanic scorpions battling each other to see who would eat the loser; ravenous vultures squawking joyously as they feasted on the carcasses of dead genin left over from battles with enemy teams, or with animals that were messy eaters. There were so many nocturnal predators lurking in the desert, that shifts had to be taken to ensure that entire genin teams were not eaten by the wildlife.

Such was the case of Team Asuma, with Sakura currently on watch and nothing but the crackle of the campfire for company. They had barely escaped with their lives and the relic after battling against a two-tailed giant scorpion. It was a very difficult battle, and they almost defeated it…until a wasp roughly the size of a chow-chow swooped in, stung the scorpion to death and flew away with its carcass (never mind the fact that the scorpion was a lot bigger). Apparently, it was one of the 'parasitoid wasps' that Shiina had warned them about not too long ago; they were the type that attacked arachnids and laid eggs in them.

After seeing what had happened today, it was clear that extra special care had to be taken lest they be eaten alive by the wildlife. She'd seen vultures so desperate for food that they'd gang up to frighten genin so that they'd run into natural traps that may or may not involve a steep cliff. That, and there were direct attacks such as gigantic tarantulas pouncing on hapless victims. Due to these events, it was no wonder they took hour-long shifts to keep an eye out for any trouble.

Luckily for Sakura, she'd already taken an extra square of chocolate with her meal. It wasn't exactly palatable due to the fact that it was a tad bitter and that it was too hard to enjoy; likely due to being made with a prioritization on high heat resistance. On the other hand, it was a reliable source of calories, proteins, vitamins, minerals and much-needed caffeine for emergency situations or a shinobi on the watch.

Her attention was on the fire as she contemplated the idea that Naruto was very much alive and rampaging through the Shinobi Nations as a Guardian. In the earlier days of their team assignment, Sakura wasn't exactly nice to him, given that she was too focused on gaining Sayuri's approval. Truly, it was no excuse for treating him that badly; but still, she _did_ try to make things up to him later on. When she was at her lowest, she turned to him for help…only to wind up sending him to his death trying to bring Sayuri home.

A bit of motion had drawn her eyes toward Ino. With a sigh, Sakura was broken out of her musings. "Can't sleep, Ino?"

"No." Came her answer.

"Neither can I." sighed Choji, sitting up with his teammate.

The three of them sat around the campfire. It's possible that there was enough caffeine in two squares of chocolate to keep them up at night. "How sure are you that the Guardian in the coat is Naruto?" Ino asked, looking to her friend with no small amount of uncertainty.

"It's only by hearsay, but it's a theory," Sakura admitted, "I don't know exactly why, but the way he carried himself…the way he talked…it all screamed 'Naruto' to me. And the descriptions were almost consistent. You guys ran into him once, don't tell me you didn't notice anything."

"Well, there _was_ that one time while we were guarding Koyuki-hime," drawled out Ino, racking her brains for the exact details, "I never put it in the report, but there was a time when I ran into Koyuki-hime alone with the Guardian. They were surrounded by dead Yukigakure shinobi, and he was wielding a small weapon. I only saw the back of his head for a second, then it was covered in a bright light as he helped her up. As soon as he stood back up, he was wearing his helmet. I believe what he told her was, 'I really wish you didn't see that, just promise me you won't tell anyone what you saw…especially not to Konoha shinobi.'"

"Excuse me, '…especially not to Konoha shinobi?' What'd he have to hide?" Sakura asked, her suspicions flaring.

Ino shrugged. "I have no idea, but after the whole mess, I have always wanted to see what was under that helmet…which was why I wanted to join you on this attempt to capture him. Though if that Guardian _is_ Naruto, why would he hide himself from us?"

"There are different reasons why someone would hide himself from people that know him, most of them are bad," said Choji, "though it does get me wondering. Now I'm not saying I know anything, but let's assume that that's the case: all of us from the Konoha Twelve were at least on good terms with Naruto…some of us were even trusted by him. So that would leave out a lot of the bad reasons to hide his identity; but if that's the case, who could he be trying to protect us from? Or on another note, what could he possibly be doing that he has to hide himself?"

All other thoughts had come to a halt when Sakura noted that someone had arrived. He was a well-built mass of muscle that wore the olive-colored flak jacket of a Suna shinobi, as well as a small turban, and a few extra pieces of armor that included a sode. Overall, he gave the impression of a sōhei due to the way his turban incorporated a veil, the large prayer beads he wore around his neck, and the daisho and naginata he toted around.

"There's been an incident," he said, his gravelly voice was enough to add a sense of emergency to his words, "in addition to a failed attack on Kazekage-sama, we've found some dead guards on the walls outside the Ma no Sabaku. You are recommended to leave your relic here, and head to the nearest gate; the exams are cancelled."

Before anyone could ask anything else of him, the sōhei vanished in a sandstorm.

"What're we gonna do?" Choji asked, fishing out the relic. It was still glowing after they'd pulled it out of the shrine, although it was pulsing at a slightly faster rate than before…like a heart in the early stages of severe tachycardia. He gingerly set it in the sand, hoping that a sudden impact would not cause the relic to explode as he buried it as deep as he could.

Sakura gave it some thought before she made up her mind. "Now that we no longer have to deal with the exams, we can try to hunt down the Guardians. With any luck, the one with the coat will be tired out enough for us to at least unmask him."

"If you're after him too, then you can count us in." came a voice that approached from behind a rock. The speaker was none other than Hyūga Neji, walking towards the campfire with Team Nine in tow. "Though you don't have to bother with the latter; we already saw his face."

There was no small amount of shock in Team 10 as soon as they heard the news. Everyone was staring at Neji as though he'd grown a second head. However, it was Sakura who would break the awkward silence between the two teams with the big question that was in everyone's mind: "Is it…?"

"It's Naruto." Tenten finished, confirming Sakura's train of thought.

* * *

[Elsewhere in the Ma no Sabaku]

This was not good.

Fū was separated from her team during the sandstorm earlier today, and was locked in combat with these two men that were apparently trying to kill her. Fortunately, Chōmei was able to warn her of something wrong…any second later, and she would've been dead sooner. And the timing couldn't have been worse; her assailants had caught her just as she'd finished her bare-bones rations, which meant she was suffering from side-stitches attacking her ribs.

Her attackers both wore black coats with red clouds embroidered onto the tail. One of them, she recognized; he wore a black mask and a white headdress with a Takigakure hitai-ate built into the forehead, the crest having been slashed out. He had dark skin, and his seafoam green eyes were surrounded with red sclera that looked upon her with neither mercy nor pity. There were no weapons on this man, but she'd heard enough tales to know that Kakuzu the Heart-stealer was already a living weapon.

The other was a silver-haired maniac that wore a Yugakure hitai-ate around his neck, laughing maniacally as he fought. He brandished a triple-bladed scythe in one hand, sometimes swinging it around by the rope that was attached to the butt. In the off-hand, he wielded a collapsible staff that terminated in a single pointy end. There was no shirt under his coat, revealing the muscles of a trained fighter. Like Kakuzu, the Yugakure crest was slashed out.

Kakuzu hung back, waiting and watching as his companion slashed away at her with his triple-bladed scythe. Thanks to her Bijū pumping more chakra into her muscles, she was able to have a better chance at dodging his wild swings…emphasis on 'better,' as she suffered from quite a few shallow cuts due to her opponent being even faster than her regardless. But even she knew that she would succumb to exhaustion from all these close calls she'd been taking; it was only a matter of time before she finally slipped up and was punished severely for her carelessness.

As she landed, glaring at the silver-haired maniac, she could not help but wonder why he'd yet to kill her. _With skill and speed like that, he could've killed me at any time. So why prolong a fight he knows he can win with impunity?_

"You're only lucky we need you alive," said the maniac, his mocking grin only further increasing the amount of hatred she felt for him, "if this were an assassination mission, you've been dead from the start you little bitch!"

It took only a moment to process what he'd just said: they _needed_ her alive. For what purpose, she had no idea…but it was clear that if Kakuzu the Heart-stealer was associated with this lowlife, it could not be anything good. _This sucks!_ Fū thought to herself, _I'm stuck here with a psycho killer, and a legend! How the hell am I supposed to get to the Central Tower now?!_

She was too tired and in pain to run as the laughing maniac charged her, dropping his weapons…it was clear that he was going to beat her senseless, and enjoy every punch he would land on her face until she was knocked out. This was the end; there was no escape now as her assailant's steps accelerated.

Her vision began to fade in and out as she swayed from pain and exhaustion. However, her entire train of thought was interrupted as soon as she heard a low humming in the distance that gradually got louder. The last thing that Fū saw was something bolting across her vision and swiped her assailant off his feet just midway from pouncing on top of her.

* * *

(Naruto)

There was good news and bad news for this night. The good news was that after a few days of keeping both eyes open, Naruto's Ghost had sent out a long-range scan that had finally picked up the target he was tracking down. It wasn't easy, considering the mess that happened as soon as the survival aspect of the Chūnin Exams began; but still, better late than never.

The _bad_ news was that the Akatsuki had gotten to her first. What's worse was that Fū was in the middle of a fight with Kakuzu the Heart-stealer and Hidan the Immortal. Both of them were Kage-level nuke-nin with rather high kill counts, but the latter was the one currently engaging his target.

One way or another, he had to hurry…lest he wanted to go through a repeat of the Utakata Incident. He would be damned if he lost another Bijū, and he most certainly refused to allow the Akatsuki to show such irreverence to another Jinchūriki the way Pein had. With that thought in mind, he sped up his Sparrow, while opening a channel to Hinata and Haku. "Hinata! Haku! I've found Fū, but we've got to hurry! The Akatsuki have found her first, and they're _beating_ her!"

"Roger that, I'm locked onto your coordinates!" Hinata barked, obviously caught off-guard by the news.

"Affirmative Naruto, I am en route. See you both there!" Haku responded.

"I will engage them first, get there as soon as you can!"

As he put his Sparrow on full-throttle, Naruto opened a channel to his Ghost. "Get Tork's fusion rifle ready; it's high time we show those Akatsuki bastards that we mean business!"

"Are you sure about that?" the Ghost asked, "This is the first time he' made one."

It was true; while Tork was not the only smith in the Nami no Kuni tower, he was hands down one of the best. However, this was the first time that he'd made anything with (to quote him) 'less dakka an' more zzappa,' as he specialized in rapid-firing kinetic weapons. In all fairness though, even though he and Naruto butt heads very often, he trusted the gunsmith and was trusted enough _by_ him to be given free prototypes to test out. There were other smiths that made good fusion rifles, but Tork had yet to fail him…might as well give the gun a shot.

"Can you think of a better time than now to test it?" Naruto asked, keeping Hidan in his sights. "Look, if you're _that_ worried about reliability issues, we still have my own custom fusion rifle if this gun turns out to be a dud. One way or another, we're going kill those bastards, and we're killing them _very_ thoroughly."

"Your funeral."

As the Ghost worked quickly to ready the fusion rifle for action, the Sparrow's engines were kicked into overdrive, sending it flying across the desert at obscenely high speeds. When he was halfway towards Hidan, Naruto jumped off the Sparrow and allowed inertia to do the rest. The hovering vehicle continued speeding forward, slamming into the unsuspecting maniac with impunity while carrying its victim away as soon as Naruto hit the ground rolling. By the time he rolled back up, Naruto had equipped his white auto rifle and began emptying the magazine into the Sparrow, causing it to accelerate a short distance before finally exploding.

Naruto took a moment to inspect his handiwork, listening to Hidan's screams as he was likely caught in the explosion. It was not exactly the honorable thing to do, but it had to be done. While it's not always the case, a title was usually earned; it was definitely so in the case of a nuke-nin of Hidan's caliber. _I have no idea why he's called 'the Immortal', but better safe than sorry. Even if_ that _didn't kill him, at least I've got Kakuzu alone._

Turning to face Kakuzu, Naruto dispelled his auto-rifle and replaced it with a ramshackle-looking weapon that seemed to have been made of nothing but scrap metal and duct tape. It had a shark-nose decal spray-painted at the business end, and terminated in four metal prongs arranged in an equidistant triangle around a single spherical crystal. This little number was rough because Tork was still playing around with fusion rifle technology…but if it was truly his work, it'd hold together despite all appearances.

{Play: "Rules of Nature" by Jamie Christopherson, from "Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance"}

"You assholes from Akatsuki have _really_ pissed me off!" said Naruto, stretching his neck before aiming his fusion rifle at Kakuzu as a subtle electric whine began to fill the air around him. Kakuzu did not worry that his partner was destroyed by his Sparrow. He didn't even seem curious over the fact that Naruto was wielding fusion rifle.

Naruto charged his opponent, his fusion rifle beginning to store up a charge. The orange light made it clear that this was a Solar Light weapon, and the electronic whine got louder as it prepared to discharge its shot. Not intending to let his opponent get any closer, Kakuzu allowed gray strands to droop from his sleeves before wrapping them around to form a very thick whip. Within a few seconds, Naruto had managed to close in on Kakuzu, who managed to swing his arms just in time to force Naruto to jump over the 'tentacles' and aim downward. As he landed, Naruto was close enough to Kakuzu that the nuke-nin was forced to back-flip away from the fusion rifle as it fired eight small bolts that streaked just over his body that just barely scratched the surface of his coat, igniting it and allowing it to burn away.

As soon as he landed, a shirtless Kakuzu found himself watching as Naruto quickly charged another volley of fusion rifle bolts. Kakuzu hopped off to the side just as the sand beneath him began to displace beneath him, revealing a massive scorpion that took the shot for him. The results were rather instantaneous, as the scorpion glowed a bright orange light before it was disintegrated from the heat that quickly spread throughout its body. Within seconds, the scorpion had become ash that had scattered to the winds.

"Interesting," Kakuzu thought out loud, before looking back at Naruto, "there are quite a few birds I can kill with one stone. Most obvious of all is that I can appease the Akatsuki with the Jinchūriki…once I'm done with this, they will get off my back for a while. After that, I can sell you out alive…the only question I have here is, which Shinobi Village would pay most handsomely for me to bring you to them alive for interrogation? But most importantly though, I could sell your weapon to any party that is interested in its inner-workings. One way or another, I will make quite the killing tonight."

"That's assuming you survive the night." Naruto said, grinning fiercely under his helmet.

Before another word could be said, maniacal laughter could be heard as Hidan rejoined the fight, picking up his scythe and spike mid-stride and pouncing with the intent of bisecting Naruto in one go. That plan was thrown out the window as soon as he summoned his sword in one hand and grabbed it by the blade just in time to catch one of the teeth on Hidan's scythe with the guard before flinging it over the shoulder. He then changed his grip in such a manner that he was holding the longsword in reverse in order to parry the spike away before attempting to behead Hidan in the same motion. Fortunately for Hidan, the dull blade of the sword missed his neck, but cut deep into his shoulder shortly before he was kicked back.

As he looked at the two enemy combatants, Naruto could only sigh. "I honestly can't tell which of you is the worst heretic; the monster that worships money, or a psycho that worships a false god?"

"HEY! Who the fuck do you think you are?" Hidan roared, "Jashin-sama is a _real_ god! You're the only heretic around here with your heathen ways!"

Naruto snorted, dispelling his sword to get a better grip on his fusion rifle. "You wouldn't know a _real_ god if it descended from the heavens. Not that it's going to matter for you."

Before anyone could ask what he meant, more low humming was heard in the distance. It got louder before two blurs had sped in, and smashed Hidan from both sides. Naruto's reinforcements had arrived; Hinata and Haku had their machine guns aimed at the mass of metal created by the head-on collision of both of their Sparrows and opened fire, causing them to explode. However, they were now equipped with fusion rifles, ready to reduce Kakuzu to atomized dust.

"About time you ladies got here," said Naruto over the private channel, "I was worried you'd miss the party."

"We must truly get serious Naruto-kun," Hinata admonished, "The sooner we are rid of them, the better off the world will be."

"Agreed. After today, we'll show the Akatsuki just how serious we are." As Naruto said this, Hidan had climbed out of the wreckage, still laughing maniacally. At this point, he'd switched the prototype he'd gotten from Tork for his own custom fusion rifle: it was a streamlined thing with two prongs at the business end and a large bayonet under the barrel. This weapon took design cues from an ancient fusion rifle known as the Plan C, combined them with the auto-rifle Monte Carlo to create a Solar Light weapon that performed well from melee to medium range.

"You bastards are gonna pay for that," said Hidan, taking up a position next to Kakuzu. "Come to think of it, you'd all make for good sacrifices to Jashin-sama!"

The three of them stood in front of each other, prepared to attack at any moment as the moonlight came out as streaks of silvery light through the cloudy night sky. A split second was all it took for Naruto and his Guardian Team to charge their fusion rifles as they all picked their targets. Naruto quickly loosed the first shots at Kakuzu who barely dodged the first volley of golf ball-sized projectiles only to be dismembered at the elbow by Hinata's second volley. His other arm was severed when several of the spheres fired by Naruto's fusion rifle rebounded off a rock behind him. One of the spheres shot off the other elbow; three of them put golf ball-sized entry wounds into his back, and baseball-sized exit wounds out of his chest.

Haku however, missed her first shot, having had to deal with a fast-moving target that refused to stay still. She waited for a while, watching as her target darted around and forcing her to miss several shots. Just as she was down to her last shot, Hidan rushed her with scythe in hand. The second he was inches in front of her, Haku quickly brought her foot up to kick him hard in the crotch, before finally shooting him in the face with eight bolts of Void Light and completely tearing him apart at the molecular level before he even hit the ground.

Once done with her opponent, Haku ran to help Naruto and Hinata. Her eyes had widened as soon as she realized that they were staring at the remains of their enemy. However, something was wrong; targets hit by a fusion rifle were supposed to be disintegrated upon death…and the nuke-nin from Takigakure was taking quite a bit of time to dissolve. That all changed as soon as Kakuzu's body twitched, before flipping over. A large shadow jumped out of his back, revealing itself to be a black bestial shape with a white mask. There were also three more masks on Kakuzu's back, before the black monster flipped him back over and filled in all three holes in his body while also pulling his arm back together.

After a moment on the ground, Kakuzu stood up. There was no small amount of greed mixed in with the rage in his eyes. "You three have done it now," he snarled, "now that I have firsthand experience on the effects of your weapons, the possibilities are endless. I'll make sure I kill you all and sell your weapons out to the highest bidder."

The Guardian fireteam scattered, managing to dodge Kakuzu's black tentacle as it attempted to slice them all in half with a single lash. As he rolled under, Naruto quickly charged a shot into his fusion rifle, and tossed a grenade at his opponent. Kakuzu rolled away just in time for the dark cloud to form, causing lightning bolts to come crashing down from the sky; he wound up being shot at with a Shadowshot arrow from Haku. Sadly for the nuke-nin, his escape was cut short by the Void tether that emanated from the purple sphere…rendering him helpless to stop Hinata from leaping forward and smashing his head in with a Fist of Havoc. To finish the job, Naruto impaled Kakuzu on the blade of his fusion rifle, and fired shot after shot into him before kicking his body off the bayonet.

Once he backed far enough away from Kakuzu's body, Naruto pulled out the battery of his fusion rifle and replaced it with a new one. Sure enough, another masked beast had sprung out of Kakuzu's back, and was just about to jump into one of his wounds when a large, orange-winged, black wasp had flown out of nowhere and tackled it to the ground, stinging repeatedly at its corpse. As this happened, another masked beast sprang from Kakuzu's back and entered his wounds; just in time to stop him from disintegrating even faster.

Once his wounds had patched themselves up, Kakuzu created a new tentacle arm and immediately bisected the wasp in one pass. "Accursed wasp chose the wrong thing lay her eggs in." Kakuzu bit out in annoyance. As he said this, the masked beast dissolved…leaving behind a heart. "Thanks to this, I will have to take your hearts in compensation."

{Play: "You Will Know Our Names" by ACE+ from "Xenoblade Chronicles"}

Kakuzu had allowed his black strings to unravel, tearing apart his already rag doll-like body and turning him into a large monster made of meat and string. As he sent his tentacles out in an attempt to impale the Guardians, Naruto entered the Stormtrance and began sending extremely high-current electricity into Kakuzu's body. The nuke-nin's body was tougher than normal, especially due to the obvious kinjutsu he was using…unfortunately, he was not aware of the fact that Naruto's mastery over the Stormtrance was such that he could potentially output gigawatts (possibly even terawatts) of power at the expense of his life. It was enough to single-handedly keep a Hidden Village's power grid active for at least two whole years…and cause Kakuzu's remaining hearts to explode after several electric pulses surged megawatts of power into his body and through each heart. It wasn't long until he was fried from the inside out as the Arc light continued to burn his body down to ashes that scattered with the wind as he was completely broken down to the molecular level.

As soon as he recovered from the amount of Light he'd used, Naruto stood back up looking into the distance. "There's your compensation."

The battle was won. One way or another, Akatsuki would wonder what had happened to Kakuzu and Hidan. But for now, they had more pressing matters…like the unconscious Jichūriki that was on the ground. "Hinata-chan, how's she looking?" Naruto asked as they walked towards her.

Hinata strode towards the prone body of Fū, as her Ghost hovered nearby. As she was more concerned about rescuing civilians and protecting the injured, she had specially ordered medical kits to aid in the endeavor. Her procedure was simple: first to look over the patient via her Byakūgan, then her Ghost to scan for any other injuries that she may have missed before working on treatment. "She's fine, Naruto-kun," her Ghost finally said, "she's suffered quite a few shallow cuts and she's exhausted, but she'll live."

"Then let's get going," said Naruto, as Hinata gently hefted Fū in a bridal carry, "We can't afford to leave her like this and…"

"Hold it right there!"

Naruto could not help but face-palm himself. The entire Guardian Fireteam turned to a nearby dune to see Team Asuma and Team Gai standing atop it. "Now that we've caught up to you, you owe it to yourselves to put that girl down, lay down your arms and unmask yourselves," said Sakura, as all three of them had their backs to each other. Naruto and Haku had their fusion rifles at the ready in the event that they had to fight their way out; Hinata placed Fū over her shoulder in a fireman's carry with a sidearm prepared to defend her charge and patient. "And don't bother escaping. We have you completely surrounded."

Wondering exactly what she was talking about, Naruto and company turned around to find Team Kurenai just behind them. They were also joined by Shikamaru and Temari, who'd apparently come on down from the tower to join in on the hunt. The only person that was unrecognizable in the group was the pale boy that Naruto immediately recognized as a ROOT agent from the way he carried himself.

Their mission was pretty much done; there was no need to fight. "Ladies, lower your weapons and take off your helmets." Naruto sighed.

Haku and Hinata turned their heads to face him. He could feel their uncertainty under their helmets. "Are you sure, Naruto?" Haku asked, "What about doing our work incognito?"

"We would've been found out sooner or later," said Naruto, "besides, what can they do with this knowledge?"

"What if they try to stop us?" Hinata asked, concerned at the thought of possibly fighting a former comrade. It was especially understandable considering that Shiina and Kiba were present.

"Oh Hinata-chan, ye of little faith. Of course they _can_ try; I doubt they'll succeed…"

* * *

(Sakura)

"What're you waiting for?!" Sakura shouted. "Why don't you show us who you really are?!"

There was nothing but silence from the Guardians as they noted they were all surrounded. Having Team Kurenai showing up was a very welcome surprise, especially with Shikamaru and Temari coming down to assist them. Apparently, the latecomers saw this as an opportunity to capture the Guardians as well. There was no way that these vigilantes could escape now.

"Looks like you finally became your own woman," one of the Guardians said in a voice she knew very well, "I guess time really did you a lot of favors."

Before she could ask what he meant, the Guardians lowered their weapons as their helmets began to emit a bright glow that engulfed their heads. As soon as it cleared out, Sakura had to will herself not to run on down muttering apologies…standing on the ground beneath her with his face revealed in the moonlight was none other than Uzumaki Naruto. Standing next to him were Hyūga Hinata, and a face she never thought she'd see in a while: the rogue Hunter-nin from Kirigakure with the Hyōton kekkei genkai. It was impossible, due to the fact that all three of them were dead…and she knew she wasn't the only one who felt this way, because she could briefly make out the mixture of confusion, fear and even joy on Shikamaru and Team Kurenai's faces.

"It's been a long time, everyone." Naruto finally said, smiling sadly, "though I suppose I ought to apologize for dodging all of you."

Sakura choked on her words. "But…how…"

"That's a story for another day," Naruto interrupted, "but suffice to say, you've all done well."

It was at this point that Shiina had finally worked up enough of a spine to take charge. "We're all surrounding you. By logic, there's no way for all three of you to escape; even with your land-speeders."

Naruto's smirk had taken on a more devious appearance. "As much as I'd like to come on home with you guys, we have a mission so important that we can't afford to fail it."

"We'll find you one day, Naruto!" Choji shouted. "And when we do, we're bringing you and every Guardian you have on your side in for questioning."

All thoughts were cut out as soon as a loud whine was coming from above. Three flying machines had descended from the clouds, kicking up sand in all directions. Hinata and the Hunter-nin were both surrounded in a cone of bluish light before they disappeared into the flying machines. Both of them flew away in their massive machines, long gone within seconds as the sound of their flight knocked the capture team around.

As Sakura stood back up, she saw that only Naruto stayed behind. "I'm pretty sure you're all aware of a war that's going on between the Guardians and Akatsuki," he began, the sad smile returning to his face, "after today, we're going to be fighting that war more seriously; we're going to rid the world of their poison. I guess all I have to say to you guys now is…it was nice to see you all again, but be careful; it's going to be bloodier after today."

Everyone moved in trying to capture him, Naruto vanished in a cone of bluish white light. All Sakura could let out as his flying machine sped away into the night sky was an anguished "NARUTO!"

* * *

[Somewhere in Kusagakure no Sato]

The sound of bartenders at work in the pub could not drown out the thoughts that Jiraiya had been having since he'd left Gamamaru roughly two days ago. It was puzzling as to what it meant.

"Hey there stranger," said a bartender, bringing Jiraiya out of his thoughts, "you seem troubled. Something on your mind?"

"Just a story I'd heard." Jiraiya answered simply, contemplating his next shot of saké.

"Care to share it with me?"

"I doubt you'd be interested."

"Try me."

Well, who could this bartender tell? Besides, it's not like normal people take prophecies in stock…besides, a prophecy is _technically_ a story. Jiraiya downed his saké shot before facing the bartender. "Okay, here goes: there's three kingdoms. One kingdom is a land of light, its ruler kind and just, hoping to bring that golden age to everyone else. To that end, he intends to bring order to the world, so that he can bring his people to the stars.

"Another kingdom is ruled by a monarch that intends to keep the status quo. With this monarch, only the strong survive and the weak have no business even existing. To them, treachery is seen as an act of love.

"The third kingdom is a militaristic land; its monarch seeks to destroy all. His hatred of all is made known by his subjects…all of whom willingly do as their master commands. He does not care who dies, so long as the whole world burns.

"One day, all three kingdoms will make war…and only one of them will claim the title of 'emperor' to make their vision of the future a reality."

"Sounds like one freaky fairytale." The bartender answers, filling up Jiraiya's shot.

"Yeah," Jiraiya mused to himself, munching on some pickles, "one freaky fairytale."

* * *

 _ **A/N: The game has changed…and we now have a good idea of how Gamamaru's prophecy goes. In any case, do review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

* * *

 _ **Vocabulary/references:**_

 _ **Parasitoid Wasp―a kind of wasp that stings a prey item, and lays eggs inside said prey item for the babies to eat their way out of.**_

 _ **The hard chocolate—based on WWII-era Hershey's Tropical Bars; these things were made to withstand high temperatures and reportedly tasted awful, but they had nutritional value for soldiers. They were found in emergency ration kits, particularly for B-17 bombers in the Pacific Theater of WWII.**_

 _ **Sōhei―the Japanese warrior-monk. They were a bit of a problem during the Sengoku Basara because they were pretty much a militant order of monks…some of whom actually picked up matchlocks and started shooting at samurai, though they're usually associated with the naginata.**_


	14. Getting Serious

_**A/N: Not a lot of action, but still a chapter done. In any case, do read and review, would you kindly?**_

* * *

[Konohagakure no Sato Hokage's Office, after the Chūnin Exams]

There was very likely going to be a shitstorm after this.

Tsunade had been debriefed on the events that went on during the Chuunin Exams with Shizune. Not only was Naruto confirmed to be alive once again, but so was Hyūga Hinata…and to complicate matters even further, both were now Guardians as well. She honestly had no idea what to make of this intel; and to be honest, she really wished she had a hot saké shot ready, especially when the time came to break the news to the council. "Do you think we can trust him to not attack us?"

"I honestly can't say, sensei," answered Sakura, "But I have a feeling that he's already convinced the other Guardians to limit this war to the Akatsuki. If that's the case, then I'm thankful; Team Gai saw their weapons and technology at work firsthand. Add to the fact that the Guardians would probably still have their memories and reflexes from when they were alive, I fear the day they decide to make war on us all."

With a sigh, Tsunade reclined in her seat. "Do we have any way of tracking them?"

"I was able to sneak some kikaichū onto the Guardians' armor, and had them give off a pheromone trail when they sense we are nearby," answered Shiina, "I highly doubt they will remain undetected for long, and the search may take a while; but with any luck, they will lead us to their base of operations."

"It's a start," Tsunade admitted, "But if the Guardians find out about the 'bug' we planted on them, do we have a general idea where they were headed?"

"Akamaru and I picked up the smell of the chemicals those flying machines ran on," Kiba explained, "It was brief, but we were able to tell that Naruto and Hinata were headed westward from where we were; that means that they're probably in Tsuchi no Kuni, if not Hi no Kuni by now. Add the slight hint of sea water we caught in that scent and I think that narrows it down to the south."

"Do we have a plan to find them?"

"I think the best place to start looking for the Guardians would be to look up," answered Shikamaru, "Those flying machines looked pretty complicated to me, so they have to land _sometime_ for maintenance and repairs. Therefore, we gotta watch out for them, in case they do. If we at least have the gist of their flight patterns, we'll have a pretty good idea where they're gonna land."

Tsunade seemed to consider that thought, before sighing in exasperation as she leaned on her hand. "Look, I think you're onto something here, but I don't think it's a good idea to pursue anything just yet. So for now, you're all dismissed."

There was no small amount of confusion among the remnants of the Rookie Twelve. They'd half-expected Tsunade to be angry at them for failing to bring Naruto and Hinata in. What had they done for this mercy? "I just got a report from our guys in the Chūnin Exam review board," she said, answering the unasked question, "All of you have passed and, effective immediately, are now Chūnin. My advice? Take the day off to relax; you've earned a reprieve. I know some of you want to pursue Naruto and bring him in for questioning, but there's no point in going after him if you're all too high-strung to think clearly. Take the day to relax, and I'll get you all started on some serious missions…until then, I'll let you all know if something comes up. That means you too, Sakura."

The remnants of the Rookie Twelve bowed respectfully before marching out the door. When she was certain that they'd already left, Tsunade let out a sigh of relief, mixed with annoyance. "What do you think Jiraiya? Do you think it can be done?"

Crawling in through the window was a face that Tsunade was glad to see for once. "It should be doable," he replied, "In fact, I'm pretty sure my spy network could possibly catch on to those flight patterns. Like birdwatching for big, metal birds."

"You think you're good for this?"

Jiraiya was taken aback by that question. "Of course I am. What makes you say that?"

"You're going to hunt down Naruto-kun…you sure you're not going to try to warn him off?"

"No way I'm gonna do that," said Jiraiya, confidence in his tone, "I have way too many questions to let him off easy. Besides, after learning that Minato's name is also reactivated on the contract, the mystery just keeps getting deeper and deeper. That, and the Guardians pretty much humiliated _my_ spy network, so I'm not taking that from them."

"Don't worry. You'll be first in line to ask him all your questions when we find the Guardians' base…assuming of course you actually do _find_ them."

Jiraiya snorted. "We both know that's going to be the easy part; the hard part is actually _capturing_ a Guardian for interrogation. If they're as technologically advanced as I think they are, I don't see us having a successful infiltration in the near future. What complicates matters even worse is that there's no way that the other Shinobi Nations haven't heard of the incident over at Sunagakure. When they learn where the Guardians live, we can forget about infiltration―they'll probably be so desperate trying to capture and brainwash one that there'll be nothing we can do to get in."

"Then do it as quietly as you can," answered Tsunade, doing her best to stay firm, "But don't forget your mission to spy on the Akatsuki. They may be at war with Naruto and the Guardians, but that could change at any moment. As much as I want to trust Naruto and his new friends, they're still an unknown until we can bring one of them in for questioning."

"Understood." Jiraiya nodded. "Though I hope you have enough questions on your mind for when we _actually_ capture a Guardian. Who knows? With any luck, we'll be able to capture Naruto."

"Oh, there'll be plenty of time for questions…" Tsunade agreed, "And I have no doubt that the Hyūga will have no shortage of them."

* * *

[Otogakure]

A wet ripping sound gradually filled the air.

The hollow moaning and bestial snarling only served to make the atmosphere even more ominous as it mingled with the ambient crackle of torches illuminating the underground base. This was the scene that surrounded Sayuri as she reclined in Orochimaru's throne, naked in her human form with a cleaver in hand. All this as she watched her 'zombie horde' feasting on the remains of those that couldn't flee. The rest would follow soon enough, especially those who had just survived being bitten.

Had she not been Taken and exposed to the Darkness, Sayuri had no doubt in her mind that this scene would've driven her mad with fear and disgust. Even more so with the knowledge that these people that she killed with a bite would eventually mutate into Hive Spawn, thirsting for Light. Some of them had already turned into Shredder-wielding Acolytes. All were well-armored, willing and eager to kill in her name with religious zeal. All of them awaited the chance to mutate into Knights and Wizards to better serve her.

The rest remained as newborn Thralls, with a hard-wired instinct to swarm enemies and devour both flesh and Light with her blessing. They waited to gain the sapience needed to choose genders and metamorphose into Acolytes. Until then, the had to make do with sharp claws and teeth to complement their numbers.

It was just like the time she was Taken: there was nobody to challenge her; nobody to try and kill her. Aside from the feast of the zombies, there was peace. This allowed Sayuri a certain modicum of peace to relax as she slouched in the throne, leaning her head on her hand in thought. Her battle against Orochimaru a few days ago was going in her favor; she was winning, while also learning the finer points of her new powers on the fly. So far, she was able to use it to summon weapons and fire blasts of 'dark magic' at her adversary. Then again, Sayuri had a feeling that she'd barely scratched the surface of the art…and while she was unable to use all her jutsu, she was compensated with the power of the Darkness, and a primer on the fundamentals of Hive sorcery and necromancy.

As she had the snake at her mercy, Sayuri was just about to land the final blow when she was kicked from the side. Her victory over Orochimaru had been interrupted by none other than Yakushi Kabuto. Before she could summon her hand-cannon to get them both, Kabuto and Orochimaru vanished without a trace…no doubt, because of a Shunshin. _They can run as far as they like_ , she mused to herself, _I will convert them both, sooner or later._

Overall, the Snake and his apprentice could wait. Right now, she had bigger fish to fry…such as hunting down the boy she loved. In the time she spent dead, the Darkness had revealed to her that Naruto's resurrection was more than just hearsay; it was a fact. The only problem was that he was aligned with the Light, and thus was the enemy of both her new god and herself. _One way or another, he will be mine…even if I have to convert every person I see to do so._

"Put me down, fuckers!"

Sayuri's thoughts were interrupted with a string of curses as soon as she spotted something moving in the corner of her eye. She watched as someone was dragged into her view by a pair of Acolytes she'd assigned to watch over the entrance to the base, along with a very experienced Knight swordsman she'd experimentally summoned a few days ago.

Their orders were simple: any and all intruders were to be brought before her alive if at all possible. Her head was bare of any helmet, with a face that Sayuri could still recognize; one that was spouting forth thousands of profanities from her mouth at the Acolytes and Knight. She could practically smell the Light coming out of her body; it was enough to make a man sick. However, she wore a nice leather jacket over what was assumed to be a rubberized suit that hugged her curves. Around her upper-left arm, she wore a band of metal that marked her as a Warlock-class Guardian.

The prisoner was brought down to her knees, and the Knight brought the edge of his cleaver up to her neck. "Majesty," he said, his voice like the rumble of a machine, "We present a prisoner to you…alive, as you requested."

"It's been a long time…Tayuya, was it…?"

The redhead looked up from the cleaver at her…a few seconds was all it took for Tayuya to recognize her captor. "The fuck!? You're supposed to be dead, bitch!"

"As are you," Sayuri retorted, grinning sadistically, "Though to be honest, I never thought you were Guardian material."

"And you fucking stink of the Darkness, you exhibitionist slut!" Tayuya shot back, "I don't know what the fuck you're up to, but you're fucking dead when the other Guardians find out about you!"

The threat did nothing to change Sayuri's grin; if anything, it only seemed to make it wider. As she stood up, her blade dissipated once she let go. The steps she took left the former kunoichi silent, wondering exactly what she was up to as she walked towards her. The Knight pulled his cleaver aside, allowing her to crane her head next to Tayuya's ear; her whispered words carried a seductive tone. "You told me that I would be granted power overwhelming if I surrendered myself to Orochimaru. You promised me that I could have whatever I wanted if I did."

"Your point, bitch?"

"Perhaps _you_ would like for me to extend that same promise to you…?"

"Fuck no!" Tayuya shot back, "I'm not gonna fucking work for the Darkness!"

Sayuri's answer was to grab Tayuya by her chin and force her to look her in the eye. The third eye in her forehead opened and pinned the Guardian down with its malevolent gaze. Her feral grin widened to reveal dagger-sharp canines, her terror increasing tenfold. "It's cute really, to think that you have a choice in the matter." Sayuri taunted, reveling in her victim's growing sense of helplessness. "See, the thing is; out there, way out in the wilderness, you thought you had a chance in the Light! But aneki, down here…?" She asked, waving her hand around to indicate the Hive surrounding them. "…Down here, you're in the Dark."

Any word that Tayuya would've had in retort was cut off when Sayuri's fingers tightened around her head, and pulled her face to plant a kiss on her lips. She could feel the tongue dance around even as she tried to free herself. Sadly for her, the Acolytes had very strong grips, and the Knight planted his foot on her back. She tried to force the kiss off, breaking away in an attempt to stop this; but every move to struggle out of the grip only seemed to make the kiss more intense.

Once the kiss was broken, Sayuri released Tayuya's head. She stood over her with a victorious smirk on her face. "Void Light…so very tasty," she mused. Her hand glowed with an eerie green flame, before she started speaking in an unintelligible language. With a quick flick of her hand, she had completed the spell, engulfing Tayuya's body in a gout green flames. She vanished with them.

The Knight turned to Sayuri; his skeletal facial features made it hard to tell what he was thinking, but his body language spoke volumes. "Majesty, why did you not kill her?" he asked, "If she reports to the other Guardians, they will come down upon us before we've even Taken this world."

"There's no need," Sayuri answered simply, without turning to face the Knight, "She is already dead…it's only a matter of time. Until then Morgul, take solace in the fact that her descent into Darkness will be extremely painful. Soon, she'll come to me and she'll do anything to relieve the pain."

* * *

[Hyūga District]

The entirety of the Hyūga district was filled with clan members conversing with each other. At this time of year, instead of just watching cherry blossoms for the hanami, the clan gathered together in order to watch the peach and plums blooming. This used to be an event that only the Main House was allowed to enjoy; but Hiashi's reforms since Hinata's death had enabled Cadet Branch members to settle down and watch as the flower petals blossomed in the trees, marking the beginning of spring.

It was made with the intention of building bridges between the two houses; where Hyūga members could forget grievances of the past and enjoy the fleeting beauty of nature in all its forms. To a degree, it was successful in that members of both houses began to mingle…albeit after the two sides eventually warmed to each other. Shots of fine umeshu were shared with Cadet House members after lunch, though braver Main Branch members (such as himself) enjoyed some rather strong shōchū brews that Tsunade would likely demand from the clan. In the meantime, children from both houses played together without a care in the world.

The plum petals danced in the winds, reminding Hiashi of the daughter he never had a chance to reconcile with…and the wife he'd lost. As he thought on it, Hinata's death was not so different from the way her mother died in that both died protecting something; comrades in the case of the former and orphans for the latter. He shivered to think if that was the fate of his family…fairly soon, his thoughts turned to his remaining daughter as she admired a peach tree. _If that's the case, then will Hanabi's life be as fleeting?_ Hiashi thought, fear gripping his heart with ice-cold fingers, _Will she die like her mother and sister?_

Hiashi's thoughts were interrupted as he saw Neji walking towards him. Something was wrong, he could tell it in his nephew's step as he approached. Even Hanabi noticed the uncertainty in his walk. Nonetheless, both gave him a greeting nod that Neji returned before he settled down on the picnic blanket. "What happened?"

Neji tried to find the right words before he sighed. Hiashi and Hanabi listened to his account of what happened during the Chūnin Exams; how the Guardians had appeared in the exams, bringing weapons and technology more advanced than thought possible. He also spoke of the fact that Uzumaki Naruto was alive and among their number. This culminated in the fact that before they could capture the Guardians, Hinata had revealed herself to also be a Guardian…just as Hanabi had said.

It was a good few minutes until Neji finished, before Hiashi's mind went on overdrive trying to contemplate what he'd just heard. It seemed that Hanabi had been telling the truth in that Hinata was brought back to life. Her account of what happened in the cemetery seemed a little more believable, now that Neji had effectively corroborated her story. He would not be deterred from finding his daughter now that it was confirmed that she lived again.

"Do you think we'll see her again?" Hiashi asked.

"We will." Neji assured, "It's only a matter of time before we find the Guardians' base of operations; after that, it'll be easier to find her."

"Don't be too sure of yourself, nephew," Hiashi admonished him, "Even if you manage to find their headquarters and bypass all their defenses, there's no guarantee that you will immediately find Hinata when you get there."

Hanabi took the time to silently take in the exchange. The 'Ghost' that she'd dubbed 'Yuri' because of its off-white, pink 'shell' and its feminine voice, had already confirmed what she already knew. She almost wanted to tell her father that Hinata was brought back from the dead as a 'Guardian' to help her crush in his goal to bring about a new Golden Age to mankind. But to do so would bring about consequences that could not be taken back…such as being forced to fess up that there were Guardians (of whom and how many, she didn't know) hiding in the village.

Still, it was good to hear that her sister was still alive and well. To hear that she was likely somewhere in the sky also instilled quite a bit of envy in her; it made her wish that she could see what it was like to sail through the air, free as a bird. Hanabi had already vowed to go looking for Hinata as soon as she graduated and was just a few months away from doing so; but in the meantime, she had a lot of room for growth if she wanted to find Hinata and bring her home.

In any case, Hanabi had a long road ahead of her. Like it or not, she had to endure a few more months of Iruka-sensei's lessons before she was ready to go out into the world. She was only able to move this quickly in school on determination alone; she would be damned if she lost the momentum.

* * *

[Nami no Kuni Tower, Naruto's Laboratory]

Naruto walked through the vast expanse of architecture that was dedicated for his experimentation. Whenever he was not on active duty and had yet to earn some time off, he would come here to to study and tinker with ideas that he'd yet to implement…ideas involving holographic projectors. One of the skills he had picked up was the decoding of engrams; a skill that made him very invaluable to the Guardians, considering that those dodecahedrons sometimes contained data to manufacture exotic weapons and armor.

"You're thinking of making these?" asked a voice from behind. Naruto turned his attention to the newly-minted Hunter behind him. Fū was looking at the holograms of items he was hoping to fashion. Shortly after her Bijū was extracted, Naruto had volunteered to give her a free tour of his laboratory. At the same time, he decided to give Hinata a small tour of the lab as well…not that he had a choice, considering how clingy she wound up being after seeing how he and Fū seemed to click together almost instantly. Though for good measure, he also invited Roshi, Han, Utakata and Yagura as well.

"Yeah, a lot of Guardians and I were doing a lot of research from engrams, between this Tower and the one in the ocean," Naruto explained, looking at holographic schematics on a table. They showed both types of weapons and vehicles, "Those are things I haven't even put into the prototype stage yet; they're all cool ideas I picked up when I learned about one of ancient humanity's enemies."

"One of ancient humanity's enemies?" Hinata parroted, curiosity piqued.

"They're a race of aliens called the Cabal," Naruto explained, looking at a hologram of very blocky weapons and vehicles. A single wave of his hand over the emitter replaced the schematics with a hulking, bipedal creature in armor. "These guys are eight hundred pounds, and highly militarized. They blow up moons just for getting in their way."

"They sound pleasant," Yagura deadpanned sarcastically, "Do we know anything else about them?"

"Other than the fact that they are fanatically loyal to an emperor?" Naruto asked, "That their empire is so big that they have slaves fighting in their army? There's quite a bit that we're trying to re-learn; it's been such a long time since we saw the Cabal Empire that it worries me that they haven't found us yet. I'm hoping that they eventually had a civil war so that they don't come to our world. Though I will hand it to them; they really build their stuff to be reliable, hence why I'm trying to reverse-engineer it. But that's not why we're here."

"It's not?" Hinata asked, honestly curious as to the answer.

In response, Naruto calmly swept his hand over the hologram of the Cabal soldier. The image changed almost instantaneously, revealing a more humanoid shape dressed in the form-fitting rubber suit that Guardians wore under their armor. There were small, light plates of armor that protected the shoulders and the chest comparable to what a Hunter would wear, along with armored boots and gauntlets that Titans would wear. Over all that protection, there was a leathery tabard that was tied at the waist, giving the Guardian the appearance of a lightly-armored knight. The helmet was rounded and streamlined, something of a mix between a Warlock and a Titan's helmet. "This is an idea of mine that I'd had for quite some time now," explained Naruto, "It's for a brand-new Guardian class that takes all the good things about the Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans and puts them into one class. I call it the 'Paladin.'"

"Why haven't you raised me as one?" Han asked, taking a close look at the hologram to admire the armor being worn.

"There's quite a few factors that I've yet to work out," Naruto continued, beckoning everyone to follow him, "It isn't exactly safe because I haven't tested it out yet. The only way to safely see if that class is safe to resurrect people as without wasting potential Guardians would be to change someone's class. That was impossible; until now."

As he stopped, they found themselves looking upon a giant cylindrical tank, with a heavy door and an LED above it. Its walls were made of some kind of glass and inside was a large dais for someone to stand on. The tank glowed with a whitish-blue light as energy flowed through it. "This is something that I built with my Light, a lot of Glimmer, a lot of time calling for help and my own two hands," explained Naruto, "I won't go over the details about how it works with you…too much talk about 'reality-warping,' 'distorting the space-time continuum' and all that crap. That, and you probably don't wanna know how many times it blew up in our faces trying to get this thing to work. Long story short, it's supposed to allow a Guardian to change his or her class."

"'Supposed to?'" asked a curious Utakata, "You mean it's never even been tested?"

"Well that's why I brought you all here," answered Naruto, summoning his Ghost, "I want you all at the ready should things go wrong. See, the Cabal weren't the only race we are trying to reverse-engineer tech from; this was based on technology made by an another enemy called the 'Vex.' Seeing as bad stuff happens from even trying to mess around with Vex tech, I need you guys at the ready in case something bad happens."

Roshi perked an eyebrow at that. "Define 'something bad.'"

"Vex tech tends to drive people nuts," Naruto elucidated, walking into the tank as his Ghost floated towards a control panel near the tank, "And since this was reverse-engineered from their tech, I don't know what's going to happen considering it was made with my own Light. So if by any chance this experiment fails and I come out of this batshit insane, feel free to kill me as many times as it takes until I come to my senses."

There was a moment of awkward silence as Fū moved in closer to Hinata. "Was your boyfriend always this crazy?"

Hinata sputtered momentarily. "B-Boyfriend?!" she whispered back. She soon regained her composure and took a few seconds to contemplate the matter. "If…being brave meant being crazy, then I suppose he's always been crazy to begin with. It's just that…perhaps being brought back to life as a Warlock has unlocked a sort of potential in him. I just never thought that he'd wind up becoming something of a mad scientist. Either way, he's right." At this point, the former Hyūga materialized a shotgun in her hands, ready to unload six rounds of pure buckshot into her target. "If Vex technology is as dangerous as he says it is, it's probably best to be ready. As much as I'd hate to do this, we need to be ready to contain this at all costs."

Fū rolled her eyes as she materialized an auto-rifle in her hands. It wasn't easy, considering that in the few days she'd spent as a Guardian, she'd already taken a liking to Naruto. Still, it was a necessary evil; if Naruto did open a can of worms from this, they needed to be ready for any eventuality.

{Play: "Armory" by Daft Punk, from "Tron: Legacy"}

As the glass door to the "Class-Changer" closed, Naruto turned to face his fellow former Jinchūriki and Hinata, all of whom were locked and loaded with their choice weapons. His Ghost worked the controls from the outside as the tube immediately filled with a bright light that engulfed the entire lab for a moment. The flash gradually cleared, revealing that the tank was empty, much to everyone's dismay, until a spark of light formed inside the chamber. Within a minute, the tank filled with more sparks that floated around like whitish-blue fireflies. They slowly gathered to form a more cohesive, humanoid shape.

Everyone held their weapons at the ready as the shape became more and more defined. Eventually, the humanoid shape began to take on more familiar characteristics; Naruto reappeared before their very eyes. He wore the same outfit as the Paladin, though a closer look revealed that his tabard barely went down to his thighs and there was a device fitted to his left gauntlet. The glass door opened, allowing Naruto to hobble out of the tank weakly, until Fū and Hinata dispelled their weapons to catch him by the arms.

"Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, genuinely concerned for his safety.

"I'm okay," Naruto answered, "Trust me, I've had worse."

This time, it was Fū that would ask. "How're you feeling?"

At this point, Naruto found the strength to stand himself back up. Roshi, Han, Yagura and Utakata lowered their weapons, but kept them at the ready should things turn out badly. "I'm feeling fine, though I feel like I've lost something. Nothing that a month or two of training in the Crucible won't fix."

"That's good, because I am gonna kill you when I get back to my chassis," came the disembodied voice of Kurama. Her voice resounded through Naruto's lab, despite having no presence in the area.

"How's the Warmind core working?" Naruto asked, "And how's Isobu doing?"

"It's got a lot of space in here for my mind; I could literally build a city with this much space!" she answered excitedly. This time, she took control of the floor's hologram emitters and appeared before the Guardians. Her avatar took on the shape of a red, vulpine woman with a streamlined body that was built for speed and hair that went down to the bottom of her shoulders. She wore a more minimized version of a Hunter's outfit, giving the impression of a speedy and stealthy archer that would hit her targets dead-on before sprinting away. "Isobu on the other hand is on her way. So's Chōmei."

The Warmind core was a gigantic computer built to give the Bijuu a space where they could work on battle plans for the long-term. It had a dedicated floor on the tower to ensure that there was more than enough processing power. However, it required at least one Bijū AI to function, though more could use it for better discussion of tactics and multi-tasking; any Bijū would do to keep the core running. For safety's sake, the Warmind level housed special locations for Exo chassis in the event the core -and by extension, the Tower- was under attack to allow their occupants to escape or even fight back.

A few seconds later, a second form appeared in the lab. It took a humanoid shape, clad in bits of coral shaped into armor. Overall, it gave the impression of some kind of being made of water and coral…a Titan that ruled the seas. Still, one could make out the testudine form that Isobu took in her avatar. "Here and waiting on you."

The third shape to appear was a woman that was covered from head to toe in a sleek biological-looking armor that conformed to her slender curves. Like Kurama, her attire was reminiscent of a Hunter…which made sense, considering that Chōmei was raised as one and found that the Nightstalker class fit very well with her fighting style. The only reason that she was in the Warmind core in the first place was because her Exo chassis was still being manufactured. "Ready and waiting."

"So what brings you three down here?" Naruto asked.

"Our infiltrators have managed to compile the names of all the Akatsuki's spies and sleeper agents," answered Isobu, "It wasn't easy, but it was well worth the wait."

"Well now, looks like we're all ready to rock, aren't we?" asked Chōmei, "The only question is, what's next?"

"Are we good as far as stealing intel from them is concerned?" asked Naruto.

"I think we have enough for now." answered Kurama, "At this point, whatever we haven't found we can always find on the field."

Naruto grinned, his next words only serving to make everyone think something bad was coming up. "Then we're up for phase 2."

Kurama simply stretched herself. "About damn time. I was getting _really_ impatient…bored too. Time to go hunting."

The three Bijū avatars vanished from the room in an instant, leaving the other Guardians were puzzled as to what that meant. After a few moments of awkward silence, it was Yagura who spoke first. "…Phase 2?"

"Probably the biggest counterintelligence action ever seen in the world." Naruto said with no small amount of pride. His grin widened to almost sadistic levels. "It's the next big step in the war against the Akatsuki. If the deaths of both Hidan and Kakuzu haven't done so, then they'll know how serious we are when we kill all their operatives."

The remaining Guardians had a pretty good idea on what was going on. The war between the Guardians and the Akatsuki was not locked in a stalemate because they were even; it was made so because Naruto wanted to get information on their spies, assassins and even their sleeper cells. With the Akatsuki practically blind and crippled, the Guardians could do whatever the hell they pleased.

It was high time the Guardians got the upper-hand…and now their counterattack against the Akatsuki could begin in earnest.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Okay, not a lot of action here, but I promise you that there will be plenty of it in the future…assuming any of you would like to see some air-to-air combat in that future. In the meantime, do review, would you kindly? And please keep it classy!**_

 _ **Also, kudos to Soleneus, UnitedOsprey1991, and NorthSouthGorem for beta-ing this chapter.**_

 _ **Soleneus: You'd think Sayuri would get the irony of acting exactly like Orochimaru, but that's megalomania for you.**_

 _ **UO: Every time I hear that someone's not going to have a good time.**_

 _ **Kuro: At least we're not gonna get dunked on here.**_

* * *

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **Umeshu—literally written as "plum wine" (**_ _ **梅酒**_ _ **), this is pretty much a spirit made from soaking green plums in shōchū, and with sugar. It has a sweet flavor, and is taken as an aperitif. It is 10-15% alcohol by volume.**_

 _ **Shōchū (**_ _ **焼酎**_ _ **)**_ — _ **a Japanese spirit that differs from saké in that it's distilled multiple times, and can be made from other things than rice (buckwheat and sweet potatoes included). It's weaker than whiskey and vodka, but stronger than wine and saké as its ABV is between 25% and 45%.**_

* * *

 _ **References:**_

 _ **Sayuri's dialogue with Tayuya—modified a bit from Vaas's speech to Jason and Grant in "Far Cry 3".**_


	15. Hunter vs Hunted

**_A/N: Finally. We get the long-awaited action chapter. With any luck, this will be up to your standards, oh reader mine. In any case, do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!_**

…

[Unknown Location, months after the Chūnin Exams]

The night was quiet, save for the snapping of twigs as Kakashi walked through the woods. Today's mission was pretty much just a textbook bandit hunt; with their numbers cut down by a significant margin, only a few brave gangs popped up every now and then. A good number of those gangs foolishly believed the Guardians to be nothing but a myth: a collection of nuke-nin who had gotten lucky, wiping out almost half the Kirigakure Loyalist force and killing Akatsuki members. Other braver, more asinine gangs wanted the glory of killing one.

Ever since being debriefed on the events of the Chūnin Exams, whenever Kakashi went out on a solo mission, he kept his eyes open for the distinctive flying machines the Guardians used. He'd hoped that he would eventually find Naruto and formally apologize to him for being a bad teacher. Perhaps even convince him to come home so that he could reunite with everyone in Konoha that cared about him.

On the other hand, he hoped that his sensei had not become a Guardian. He was afraid. Afraid of facing the former Yondaime Hokage for his failures. Pakkun told him he'd heard rumors of Namikaze Minato's name being active on the Toad Contract again. Understandably, he was more than terrified of that prospect. _With any luck, I won't run into Minato-sensei,_ Kakashi thought to himself with a shiver, _Just Naruto is bad enough…_

His musings were interrupted by the crackle of a nearby campfire. Mirthful laughter drew him closer out of curiosity. _Have I found them?_

"So it's true?" asked one male voice, "He's being trained the way you were?"

The second voice was deeper, but there was still some mirth. "Yep. But, I've got no doubt that that 'star pupil' will go far. But what about you?"

As Kakashi got closer to the campfire, he could not help but think that he knew those voices. He just could not put a finger on where he knew them, but he had to know. The bandits weren't going anywhere…if they were as stupid as he thought, then they could wait. Assuming of course, the Guardians did not get there first (he had to earn his bread and butter after all).

Every step he took was calm and careful; he didn't want to be found out. And besides, it would not do if the great 'Sharingan no Kakashi' were to be caught just from stepping on a twig. A look over the bushes showed him two men talking.

One wore a hood over his head, with a helmet that resembled a dragonfly. He wore light plates of armor on his shoulders and chest, over a durable-looking rubber suit. In his hands, he was carving away at a thick twig using a large knife with two finger loops with trained precision and dexterity to make a skewer for the campfire. At his feet was a large, skinned snake. He gave the overall impression of a scout.

The other was a heavily armored man with pauldrons covered in fur. He wore a sleek helmet with an antenna extending from the left ear. Like his companion, he wore a rubber suit underneath his armor. Kakashi did not want to be on the receiving end of his fists either; the man wore a pair of complicated-looking gauntlets that would likely pulp him with a single punch. Around his waist, he wore some sort of flag that hung around the right side of his body. This one had the look of a soldier with the air of discipline he carried about him…reminded him a lot of Gai.

The two men chatted amongst themselves like old friends. Kakashi hadn't expected to run into Guardians, and yet here they were. He was also getting hungry—snake roasted over an open fire was always something to forward to. Its taste and texture was actually similar to that of chicken, so it was a good substitute for long missions without soldier pills on hand.

"I know you're hiding over there," one of the Guardians noted with slight irritation. Kakashi's trained senses identified its owner to be the hooded Guardian. It just so happened that he was done sharpening the point on his twig, and was about to butcher the snake when he picked up another twig. "If you're going to be eavesdropping, you might as well join us for dinner."

Might as well reveal himself, since there was no point in hiding anymore. He stood up and sat on a log across from the Guardians. Kakashi warily gazed at the two men, with them doing the same. However, the scout sharpened a new twig now that Kakashi decided to join in.

"I'm pretty sure you know by now that we Guardians are your dead," explained the scout, brushing away the curled shavings with a hand before starting to butcher the snake. "And it just so happens that a lot of us used to be shinobi, so we're wise to infiltration techniques. Well, some more than others."

He had no words for what he was seeing. The one thought in his mind was, _Might as well start a conversation and see where that takes me._ "I'm sorry, where were my manners? I'm…"

"Hatake Kakashi, Jōnin of Konohagakure no Sato," interrupted the scout, skewering the butchered pieces of the snake through the twigs, "You're the son of Hatake Sakumo, the Konoha no Shiroi Kiba. You were also taught by Namikaze Minato, formerly the Yondaime Hokage. Inventor of the Raikiri, your signature technique. By the way, I'm pretty sure it doesn't need to be said, but don't bother trying to capture us; it won't end well for you."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "You must've done a lot of research to get that much information."

"You have no idea," said the scout, "Not that I need it for everything regarding you."

Now _that_ gave Kakashi more intel regarding the Guardians…though he had one question for this one. "You were a Konoha shinobi, weren't you?"

"He's not the only one," added the soldier, "I also hail from Konohagakure no Sato."

"If you're both Konoha shinobi back from the grave, then why haven't you come back?" asked Kakashi, wanting to understand the Guardians better, "As a matter of fact, why haven't _any_ of you returned to your home villages?"

The soldier chuckled, while the scout dug the twigs into the ground, letting the snakes roast. "I suppose the best way to put it is that sometimes you find a higher calling. Sometimes, the calling finds you. When it does and you find the calling worthy enough, you have no choice but to answer."

"That's very vague," Kakashi deadpanned, "What higher purpose could make you all abandon your villages to unite, in spite of your differences?" His expression grew more serious. "What cause could _possibly_ be worthy enough to justify a random killing spree on shinobi in various villages?"

"It wasn't random," corrected the scout, watching the snakes as they cooked, "Everyone we killed was a member of Akatsuki. And before you ask; yes, our intelligence network was even able to infiltrate _their_ ranks. We were given missions to execute each and every spy, assassin and even sleeper agent affiliated with them."

Kakashi's eye widened in shock. "The Akatsuki have agents in every village!?"

"We just finished wiping out an entire cell," the soldier replied, his tone celebratory. It also gave Kakashi a pretty good idea on what was going on. While prime agents such as Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame were likely unaccounted for, the Guardians were at least successful in trying to cripple the organization. With their other operatives dead, the Akatsuki would die in blindness.

"What is the point of this though?" asked Kakashi, "Why are you making war on them?"

"They're an obstruction to our long-term goal," answered the scout easily, "You see, some ancient humans made a friend from beyond the stars. It brought a Golden Age to those under its immediate protection; but before it could do the same for the rest of the world, the long night came and even the Guardians of old could do nothing to stop it."

"You're talking about the Traveler of Light." Kakashi wasn't asking.

The scout turned to regard him with obvious surprise, before moving his attention back to the fire. "So, the tale hasn't been completely forgotten has it?"

"The way I understand it, not too many people know that fairytale anymore," Kakashi commented, "I'm surprised my father even knew that story well enough to tell it to me as a child. The way you tell it, it's like you're reciting scripture."

The soldier snorted. "You'd be surprised how much truth is in mythology. The Traveler of Light really exists…and we _are_ its agents."

There was no way he could refute that; going by what he'd heard of Naruto's resurrection, it was certainly plausible. Before he could say anything else, the scout handed Kakashi a skewer. "They're done." he said, reaching for his hood, "By the way, I wasn't kidding when I said I didn't need that intelligence network for everything about you."

The scout and the soldier's helmets glowed a blinding white light, forcing Kakashi to shield his eye. As the light cleared, his eye widened, mouth agog and snake ignored. He recognized the people across from him—both of them. Hearing that Guardians were dead people was one thing; actually seeing it for himself was another matter entirely.

Kakashi's shock at the sight before him was summed up in one word. "You!"

"Who did you expect?" asked the scout, his features reminiscent of Kakashi's own. He had both eyes intact and he wore no mask on the lower half of his face. Save for those details, the two of them would've been indistinguishable. The scout was Hatake Sakumo, his father…which was especially shocking, because he saw his body a long time ago.

The figure right next to him had a passing resemblance to his friend Gai, down to the bushy eyebrows. The only differences were his large eyes, wide goatee and his thick, bushy mustache. There was no mistaking that this man was Maito Dai, Gai's father. "You really can't go wrong with roast snake," he commented idly.

There was no end to the questions that ran through Kakashi's head. He was so shocked and frightened that he could only remain silent. Finally, he managed one question; one that had plagued him since the debriefing: "Is Minato-sensei a Guardian too?"

"Of course," answered Dai, biting into a chunk of snake, "In fact, he was one of the first Guardians to be resurrected when the Traveler reawakened."

"Though if you're worried he is mad at you for your failures as a teacher, don't be," added Sakumo, blowing a few bits of snake cool before digging in. "We've all made mistakes…some more than others. Minato understands that. Besides, even if he _wanted_ to be mad at you, he has bigger fish to fry."

"Is Naruto in charge of this war against the Akatsuki?" Kakashi asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"That he is," Dai announced proudly, "He's the one that gave us orders to cripple them."

"What does he stand to gain from it?"

"Aside from protecting the other Jinchūriki from them, while giving them the opportunity to become Guardians?" asked Sakumo, "Even I don't know. I'm not in his head; but I suppose that he also wants to bring the Golden Age to the Shinobi Nations. As long as threats like Akatsuki and ROOT run around unchecked, that can never happen—humanity will be locked in this Dark Age, unable to forge an empire in the stars."

Kakashi's mind was on overdrive. If the myth about the Traveler of Light was true and humanity once had such a grand empire, what would it mean for the future? How would an ambition of this magnitude even be possible with so many grievances between the Shinobi Nations? "Where is Naruto anyway?"

"We don't know," answered Dai, "As far as standing orders are concerned, we all act independently and Naruto is no different. Though, given his personal mission against the Akatsuki and the intelligence we've gotten on them, I would hazard a guess that he's up in the sky, keeping an eye open."

…

[Meanwhile, in the skies over Sunagakure]

Sabaku no Gaara was defeated. There was no shortage of desperate words and curses from below as Sunagakure shinobi tried to shoot down the attacker. Deidara smirked victoriously as he caught the Jinchūriki in midair. Exploding ballista bolts and swarms of anti-air kunai and shuriken -as well as a few jutsu- streaked through the air, but it did little to hinder his escape.

As he flew out of range of the anti-air fire and into the clouds, Deidara slowed down as a small object appeared out of nowhere. It was a small, black metal ball, with eight points around it. It looked back at him with a square, glowing eye. "I've got a message for you from a friend," it said without preamble, the square eye blinking, "He said to give up the Kazekage, or else."

He sneered at that. _Nobody_ told Deidara the Mad Bomber what to do. "Yeah? Well you can tell your 'friend' to fuck off-un!"

There was no answer from the ball. "He thought you'd say that. He also said that if that's the case, then don't bother turning around."

[Play: "Mighty Wings" by Cheap Trick]

Deidara heard a loud whine from behind him. A cursory glance revealed a massive, streamlined flying machine that rose from the clouds and closed the distance quickly. At the front were two flat prongs. On its back was a large, black box with two flat wings. Below it were a pair of large boxes with metal javelins in them.

Deidara cursed as he took more direct control of his owl. "FUCKING SHIT!"

Just as he spoke, one of the javelins detached and fire spouted from its rear. It streaked towards him at high speeds, the flying machine continued to close in on him. Deidara didn't want to find out what that javelin did, and sped up in desperation.

Unfortunately, all thoughts were cut out when the javelin shot past him, exploding right in front of him. He flipped his owl around just in time to avoid getting hit by shrapnel. Deidara looked behind him, pulling down on his right eyelid. "Ha! You missed…!"

Only, he was stupefied when the flying machine rolled and closed the gap in an instant. It vanished in a blur of orange and dark grey, passing by just below him. A bluish light flashed below him as it passed, before the flying machine flipped over again and sped off towards the village.

"That's weird…why'd I just get faster-un?" Deidara hazarded a glance down. His first reaction was of shock, which quickly became anger. His owl's tail-feathers no longer held Gaara. Somehow, that damnable flying machine had managed to snatch away his mark and was flying back to Sunagakure with him.

"DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!" he roared, "THAT FUCKER! Just when we were fucking lucky enough to have even _one_ sleeper agent still alive! If I get back to Sasori-danna empty-handed, I'm not gonna hear the end of it-un!"

With that thought on mind, Deidara commanded his owl to turn back. He'd already expended most of his clay trying to bring down the Jinchūriki; now he had to spend even more clay to bring down that insufferable flying machine. Fortunately, Sasori had badgered him to pack a storage scroll with more clay for just this sort of emergency. _I'm going to show that piece of junk just who it's messing with!_

…

[Sunagakure]

Kankuro ran in hot pursuit of the bastard that'd kidnapped Gaara, slowing to a stop as a flying machine swooped in out of nowhere. As it flew by, he noted that it nosedived towards the village. The Sunagakure shinobi turned their arms to the flying machine. Their efforts were in vain as projectiles failed to hit their target; some of them were blocked by an invisible barrier while others were evaded easily. Large ballista bolts and shuriken flying in its direction did nothing to slow its descent. "The hell?" he muttered under his breath.

"He's here," said Temari, recognizing the flying machine as it steadied itself.

Just as it passed the field of anti-air fire, the flying machine pitched upwards to stop in midair. The two siblings shielded themselves from the winds kicked up from below the machine, watching as it lowered itself in front of them. The shinobi had arrived, about to try and shoot it down had Temari not raised her arm to stop them.

A bright blue light shone, materializing Gaara and holding him in midair. She quickly reached out to catch his limp body. Before she could do anything else, she grimaced at the brief feedback of a speaker piercing the air. "Take him indoors and keep him safe," came the voice of Uzumaki Naruto, "I will deal with the Akatsuki; it's the least I can do for one of their sleeper agents escaping our purge."

"We had a sleeper agent here?" asked Temari, mortified by the implications.

"You still do, but we've been killing them since the Chūnin Exams," explained Naruto, "We have good intel that for some reason, your Jōnin Yura was the only one that got away. As we speak, we sent someone to make sure he won't get away with it; but get inside for now, because it's gonna get _real_ hectic up in the sky."

There was a tense silence between Naruto and the Suna shinobi as he manned his flying machine. The thing began to rise into the air, shortly before it sped off with a familiar white owl chasing after it not long after. A battle in the sky was about to take place above Sunagakure.

"Temari-sama, we're ready to shoot them both down," said a shinobi, his nerves more than frazzled by what he was seeing, "All we need is your command."

"What for, Ichiro?" Temari asked, not even taking her eyes off the fight to come. "That Guardian up there is already taking care of a threat for us. You fire and you'll risk retaliation from the _other_ Guardians." She turned to regard the shinobi, her mind working fast to coordinate the defenses. "However, that doesn't mean we can be complacent; if that kidnapping asshole gets close enough, then shoot _him_ down. Under no circumstances are any of you to fire at the Guardian, unless you want to give him a reason to turn his weapons on us."

"What about Yura?" asked another shinobi.

"What do _you_ think?" Temari retorted with slight irritation, "Find him before the Guardians do. I have a lot of questions for him before we do the job ourselves."

…

(Naruto)

"Ryūsei, how high are we from Sunagakure?" asked Naruto, piloting his jumpship. After several years, he'd finally named his Ghost 'Ryūsei'. To further differentiate it from other Ghosts, he also gave it an orange shell with white stripes.

"We're well out of the village's airspace," answered his Ghost, "If he falls off, it won't cause any collateral damage."

Naruto grinned. "Then it's time we got serious. Setting Gloriole Jump from 'patrol' to 'combat.'"

{Play: "Wir Fliegen" by Hiroyuki Sawano, from "Xenoblade Chronicles X"}

He freed one of his hands, a holographic keypad materializing in front of his palm. Naruto rapidly entered a sequence of numbers before finishing it with the largest square on the keypad. A holographic screen appeared in front of Naruto, showing a lot of data and a targeting reticle. The hard light controllers transformed into upright triggers that controlled both the ship and the weapons systems. The engines fired up with more force, their whine joined in with the hum of glimmer forges loading all weapons.

Since he'd first taken his Jumpship to the Ocean Tower, the aging Gloriole Jump was retrofitted with modern Guardian technology. One such upgrade were the Glimmer forges built into the craft's weaponry that all but eliminated the need for reloading, using the programmable matter to make more rockets and bullets. Hard light generators made the vehicle lighter by taking out the heavier, outdated computer systems and controls while still being useful for such important tasks as avionics and target acquisition. Setting the Jumpship to 'patrol mode' minimized fuel consumption and allowed the Guardian to fly faster and for longer distances. Of course, it was at the expense of using many of his weapons. In short, it was a vintage aircraft that was updated to today's standards; complete with a long-overdue tune-up and paint job restoration, much to the joy of Gloriole's AI.

"Now then, let's see how good a flyer he really is," he muttered. Naruto sped up ahead of Deidara, pitching upwards until he was behind his target. The AI guided the firing systems at Deidara's back, locking all weapons on him. A pull of the triggers fired high-powered rounds at the target.

…

(Deidara)

"The FUCK?!"

Deidara was dumbstruck as the flying machine suddenly moved faster than his owl, looping over, around and closing in behind him. He could see that the flying machine was firing its highly advanced weapons, causing him to reflexively roll away in an attempt to avoid getting shot down.

Lightning-fast reflexes were needed to keep him from getting shot down, especially since the pursuer was pretty close behind him. Unfortunately, he could not avoid every shot. Luckily for Deidara, he had the ability to mold his clay for a variety of purposes; such as an explosive armor that canceled out the impact of the spikes. He needed to think fast though, because he couldn't dodge forever―not to mention he had no idea how much clay he'd have for said armor.

Thankfully, he'd managed to get some clay ready before he caught up with the flying machine. His hands had formed just what he needed to at least put some distance between him and his enemy. Deidara sped up, performing evasive maneuvers to avoid getting shot down, his arms dangling behind him. The mouths on his palms to began letting out a spray of dust at his enemy. Each particle was actually a clay flea with a small, but powerful blast radius. With so many of them in a cloud, the resulting explosion would be disproportionately large. Confident in his victory, Deidara clasped his hands together: "Katsu!"

 _There's no need to check; that piece of junk should be scrap metal with that much power!_ Or so he thought. After a few seconds of silence, the flying machine streaked out of the dust cloud, a dome of light at the front. "Shit, looks like I'm gonna need more 'oomph' if I'm gonna shoot that bastard down-un!"

The only good thing about the flea bombs was that they gave him some distance from the flying machine. This would buy him time to make some heavier munitions. Unfortunately, his opponent was having none of that. Deidara watched as the six silver javelins ignited and rocketed forward. Confident that he could dodge them and that they seemed to be working on a timed fuse, he sped up. Sadly for him, the javelins were following him this time; try as he might, the six projectiles curved in the air to chase after him in hot pursuit.

"Damn it! That's some really freaky shit-un!" With that thought on mind, Deidara found that he needed to change his priorities. One way or another, he needed more time to figure out what to do with these javelins that were tracking him down until he had an idea. A short stop and a sudden drop had caused the javelins to overshoot, much to his momentary joy…until the flames trailing behind them cut out, the javelins spun around in midair before reorienting themselves to rocket back at him. Thankfully, Deidara was prepared this time. He threw his hands forward, hurling a multitude of tiny cranes at the javelins and detonating them all with a loud "Katsu!"

There was no time to savor his victory, Deidara noticed that his opponent was nowhere to be seen. That was odd, because he could still hear the flying machine nearby. Deidara looked down, terror clear on his face: his opponent was flying up and closing in way too fast for him to even counter.

He heard a voice coming from the flying machine.

"Die, asshole!" was the last thing he would hear…

…

(Naruto)

"Die, asshole!" Naruto barked through the speaker, bringing every weapon he had to bear. Machine guns and missile launchers all locked onto Deidara. One pull of the triggers and there would be one less Akatsuki member to worry about.

Before he could pull the trigger, however, Deidara was blasted with a storm of Void Light bolts. In mere moments, the onslaught of bolts shredded him to bits. Afterwards, some kind of Void homing missile sped out of nowhere and detonated on the owl. As if to finish the job, a large, white bony blade bisected what remained of him.

Naruto pulled his jumpship out of the way, just in time to watch the thing vanish into the clouds. As he righted himself, he checked all radar and motion tracker signatures. "Damn it! Ryūsei, what the hell was that?"

"I can't tell, it moved too fast even for me and…" The Ghost's answer slowed to a halt, its eye darting around thoughtfully. "We're being hailed. I can't pinpoint the source; it's on our channel and I can't block it out."

"You've stared long enough into the abyss, oh prey," a flanged voice taunted from his communicator. Its tone was feminine. As his eyes darted around looking for the bogey, Naruto saw a shadow that vanished into the clouds. Whatever it was, it was fast…possibly even faster than Gloriole. "Now, the abyss stares back into _you_."

Grimacing, Naruto pressed a button overhead, putting him on the open channel. It was a long shot, but if the bogey had the ability to communicate with him, then they were probably Guardians. Still, he kept his eyes open for the attacker. "That was some nice shooting, but who the hell are you? Why'd you shoot down my target?"

"Now why would I answer a bird of Light?" asked the voice, "Let alone one that will have its wings clipped?" The bogey was still stalking him through the clouds. It was obvious that he was speaking to it, or at least its pilot. Curious about his opponent, Naruto reached out through the Light to have a glimpse of their identity. Something seemed off about them…but a closer look frightened him.

{Play: "The Battle is to the Strong" by Yuki Kajiura, from "Fate/Zero"}

"Naruto! They're right behind us!" Ryūsei shouted, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. His eyes widened as the bogey appeared on his motion tracker beyond visual range. The thing definitely wanted a dogfight with him, but at least they were on a roughly even footing. Not to mention he was still in combat mode, which let his jumpship run on all cylinders.

He watched as two signatures left the attacker's signature, speeding towards his back. No doubt they were the homing lasers that were tracking Deidara. "Ryūsei, get ready to deploy flares!"

"Ready on your command," Ryūsei answered immediately.

Naruto accelerated the Gloriole Jump while flipping a hard light lever overhead. A large bomb materialized behind the jumpship, exploding in a brilliant shower of incandescent sparks. The homing lasers flew off course, hitting the flares instead. "How many flares do we have left?"

"We've got two more stocked up while the Glimmer forges make more," Ryūsei responded, before regarding Naruto concernedly. "You felt it too, didn't you?"

"Just a little, but I did," Naruto confirmed, keeping his eyes on his instruments and hoping to find the attacker, "When I reached out through the light, it gave off a vibe that felt wrong… _horribly_ wrong. Twisted. Like…something's trying to rip out my heart; I've not been this scared of dying since my first death. There's no other explanation: the Darkness is back and it's getting serious."

"If you're serious about continuing this fight, remember to use your flares well."

Naruto pushed his fear into a secluded part of his mind. _This is no time to be afraid,_ he thought to himself, _That bogey needs to go down before it threatens another Guardian._ He looked around trying to spot where the bogey was coming from when his lock-on warning sounded off again.

"Damn it!" he cursed, his jumpship banking through the air. His first thought was, _One way or another, I gotta tell someone about this!_

But first, he had to survive the dogfight. The Glimmer forge for the flare bombs could theoretically manufacture them indefinitely, so long as there was ambient Glimmer to work with. On the other hand, the process of making _one_ bomb took about twenty seconds.

"Damn, there goes another flare!" Naruto hissed, pulling a lever to launch another flare bomb. The homing lasers went for the flares, detonating what remained, "She knows we're eventually going to have to take this up-close and personal; she's just softening us up from a long range." Naruto turned to his Ghost, "Ryūsei, extend the instrumentation range and put more power to the thrusters; we gotta close in on her! If we're gonna take her on, we might as well soften her up first."

"Done, and done," answered Ryūsei. "We're ready!"

"Then let's get this party started."

This time, the assailant let loose a storm of homing lasers. He had to be faster; he only had one more flare saved up. He needed to use it wisely, or else he would be defenseless against the homing lasers for a full minute. At a time like this, when he was not certain of how good a pilot his opponent was, every second counted; flying around without flares was tantamount to being completely naked in public.

Once he was certain that the lasers tracking him were just barely out of reach, Naruto banked his jumpship to the left, flying toward the attacker. It was here that he had a better look at his enemy: it was a bony thing that flew on a pair of perpendicular, rectangular wings and extending forward from below the body was a sharp, sword-like point that was attached to the cockpit by strong sinew. Trailing behind the craft, hanging off the wings, were a pair of pointed tails. Overall, the craft looked more like a vicious, two-tailed bird covered in bone than a proper jumpship.

"That's a Hive fighter!" Ryūsei noted, no small amount of urgency in its tone. "We haven't seen those things for a while!"

Naruto had read and heard a lot about the Hive. They had not been seen by the Guardians for eons, but they were no less frightening even after all these years. The Hive were among the Darkness's prime agents and served it with a religious zeal. If they were here, then Akatsuki and ROOT were not the only threats.

The target was locked on. Pushing the thumb trigger, Naruto sent all six missiles streaking towards the Hive fighter as he closed in on his adversary. At the same time, he unleashed a storm of bullets at his target, hoping to shoot it down quickly. The enemy fighter turned quickly, orienting itself upwards to successfully shoot down the rockets, roll from the hail of gunfire sent its way and fly towards him. The two of them circled each other, trying to get behind. Despite being in front of each other, both Naruto and the Hive Fighter traded close-range fire; neither of them wanted to use explosives this close to each other. It was very difficult considering he still had the homing lasers chasing after him, but Naruto's reflexes allowed the Gloriole Jump to weave around them as he poked around to find an opening.

The Hive fighter's shields overheated, dissipating as if it were shattered glass. Naruto grinned at that, accelerating to pass by the enemy fighter. Knowing what his Guardian was thinking, Ryūsei automatically began focusing all shield power to the front as the enemy returned fire with Void bolts. The timing had to be perfect, or else they risked taking shots to the engines.

At the last moment, Naruto released the last of his flares before pitching upwards. In addition to being blinded, the homing lasers pelted the enemy fighter's shields. "Ha! Let's see how you like that!"

The brief break of static broke the silence. The enemy fighter was going to speak with him again, opening with sinister laughter. "Magnificent! You came for me like you always do…are you really just prey? Or just suicidal…? The very thought makes my heart sing for you, as it always has~!"

Taking a moment to analyze the voice, Naruto realized that it sounded very familiar. He had no idea who it was, but his main priority was to survive this. The Hive pilot, whoever she was, had to go down, lest she threaten the other Guardians.

As the Hive fighter soared out of the smoke, Naruto saw that it had taken a good amount of damage: the fighter had smoke coming out of its bony armor in several holes, the biggest of which being in the wings. The tails were broken off and the tip of the sword was broken to the hilt; sadly, none of the lasers hit what he assumed was the cockpit. While it had taken a beating from its own lasers, it was still more than capable of fighting as the damage was starting to regenerate. Round two was coming, and it was going to truly be up-close and personal. "All right then, you wanna dance? Let's dance!"

Naruto and the Hive pilot flew towards each other, guns blazing; Gloriole Jump's glimmer forges working at overtime to provide bullets to its machine guns, while Void bolts were fired from the Hive fighter's wing tips. Neither side was willing to use rockets at this range; that would mean endangering themselves in the process. The advantage was awarded to the one that got behind their opponent first

Their duel would be remembered for generations in Sunagakure as their crafts performed a deadly dance in the sky.

…

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **[In Baymax's voice] On a scale of 1-10, how evil am I for leaving this in a cliffhanger?**_

 _ **[Normal voice] Seriously, now we get an action chapter…and there will be more dog-fighting mayhem in the next chapter. I wonder who here will recognize the Hive pilot…and what she's truly starting to become…?**_

 _ **UO: (In a Kamen Rider Voice) It's a nine. For that You're getting a Rider Kick**_

 _ **UO: Even I don't use that many cliffhangers.**_

 _ **Sol: Do review, would you kindly? It would only be prudent, oh reader mine. No, wait, I mean Kuro's. Damn, that doesn't flow well at all.**_

 _ **NS: Enough with that already. Goddamn archaic-speaking dracoliches.**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **None yet…**_

…

 _ **References:**_

" _ **You've stared long enough into the abyss…Now it's time for the abyss to stare back into you"—Friedrich Nietzsche's "Beyond Good and Evil", the whole quote is**_ _ **"He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."**_


	16. Bloody Reunion

_**A/N: And now the second part of the dogfight. Man, that's two updates in a row. Anyway, to all you lucky readers, do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

[Near Sunagakure, approximately an hour after Deidara's death]

Yura ran as fast as he could. After being outed by the Guardians as an Akatsuki agent, he had a manhunt after him. Fortunately, he was able to evade the hunting party after his head and was en route through the wilderness to find Sasori. _I need to watch my step, or I'll be killed before I get to the rendezvous!_

Fortunately, Yura had found a rocky outcrop for situations like this. The boulders there would give him adequate protection from prying eyes, until he could safely escape and report to Sasori. Besides, he was rather adept at hiding himself; there was no way anybody could find him here. It also just so happened that there was a large cave in that area, which gave him more options for hiding.

As he passed by the first tall boulder, Yura heard a sharp 'shk-click' from behind. He turned around to face his attacker, but two rapid cracks pierced the air, followed by his own agonized scream as pain rushed up his legs. As he hit the ground, a look down intensified the amount of pain he felt, as he was hit directly in the patella; both of them.

The sound of footsteps in the sand filled the air as someone approached him. The moonlight revealed his assailant to be a figure in a tightly-woven overcoat with a feathered collar and a rounded helmet. From what he could make out of the shape under all that clothing, Yura could tell that this was a woman. In her gloved hands, she held a small weapon with a smoking hole.

"I've gotta thank you, you traitorous piece of shit," she growled, "You were useful to me…up until now."

"Who the hell are you?" hissed Yura, biting back the pain.

"No point, asshole," the Guardian deadpanned. Then, without a word, she shot each of his vitals…after that, his vision went dark.

...

"Job's done," said Tayuya with satisfaction, twirling her sidearm into the holster. After hitting his vitals, she made sure to shoot the spy six times in the face with high-caliber bullets, just to make sure he stayed down. It was more than he deserved.

"I hope you realize the amount of trouble you're in when the other Guardians learn what you did," came the voice of her Ghost as it materialized beside her. A rich, cedar-encased shell gave the little fragment of the Traveler some individuality.

"You say that like I had a fucking choice in the matter, Koto," Tayuya bit out, "What? You think I _wanted_ to pull this bullshit betrayal, selling out Naruto to that exhibitionist slut? After the shit she put me through, I thought you'd fucking understand!"

"I'm not questioning your reasons," replied Koto, "I'm just asking if you're aware of how far you've crossed the line. You're betraying someone that effectively gave you a second chance at life."

Tayuya glanced at her trembling hand, grabbing it by the wrist until it calmed down. Ever since that Uchiha-whore kissed her, she'd been suffering tremors that wracked her body. Some days, she suffered from pain all over her body and headaches, like a vicious withdrawal or hangover. What made things worse was an inexplicable hunger for Light, which was alleviated somewhat by Koto's.

Unfortunately, it dawned on her how bad her situation really was when her body acted on its own and out of desperation. As she tried to weather her condition alone, a Guardian passed by. Not only were the Guardian and her Ghost drained completely of their Light, but the former was turned into a creature of the Darkness herself. Filled with a mixture of shame and guilt, Tayuya brought out her sidearm and was about to euthanize the Guardian with all fifteen rounds. It would've succeeded had she not kicked her away and disappeared into the wilderness; likely to attack another Guardian in the same sort of desperation.

It took her a good few days of travel to get back to Otogakure, much of which was spent feeling bad for the Guardian she'd assaulted. Tayuya stormed the base, killing the Uchiha-slut's Hive warriors until she made it to the bitch's throne room. Surprisingly enough, none of the Hive attacked, not even when she got to the Uchiha-bitch's throne room…seeing her in all her smug, exhibitionist glory.

Sayuri explained, with a sadistic glee, that she was experimenting with a Hive spell to curse her targets. Said curse would make its victims hunger for Light as she did, as well as causing them to suffer something along the line of withdrawal effects. Without an increasing intake of Light, their bodies would be wracked with pain from being torn apart between staying with the Light and converting to the Darkness. She did it to make Tayuya a plague upon all people, especially to her fellow Guardians; converting anyone near her to the Darkness.

Suffice to say, Sayuri claimed that unless she lifted the curse, there was no way to free herself of the pain barring death by another Guardian. The agreement was to tell the Uchiha-bitch everything she knew about Naruto, if only for a moment of relief from her pain. After that, she was to help her lure him with a "botched Akatsuki execution." Her reward was "an end to her pain"; of which, experience with Orochimaru had told her what this very likely meant. In the meantime, she was to find people to convert to the Darkness…Guardian or human.

"If I had a choice, I would've killed the bitch for this," Tayuya admitted to Koto, "But as it stands, she's getting too powerful for me to do anything about it and…"

Whatever else Tayuya was going to say was cut off when she noticed Koto's eye darting around. "We're getting a high-priority transmission blasting on all channels. It's from Naruto…playing it now."

" _Attention all Guardians, this is Uzumaki Naruto!"_ came Naruto's frantic voice over the radio, " _I am currently engaged in a dogfight with an enemy aircraft! I've managed to break off to broadcast this message, but I know I'll be fighting again soon. To those of you in the area, pass this message to anyone you can: the Darkness is back and it's serious. Don't bother helping me and pass it along. We need to be ready and…shit! She's back! Uzumaki Naruto out!"_

Tayuya sighed in resignation. "Looks like she got what she wanted."

"Are you certain you don't want to get involved?"

"And what would it fucking matter?" asked Tayuya, "I save Naruto then tell him everything, he'll only _probably_ kill me. If I leave it be, the other Guardians will _definitely_ fucking kill me. If I go to the Uchiha slut, her 'reward' would involve killing the shit out of me. No matter how you put it, I'm both fucked and dead."

"But at least you'll be free of your pain one way or another." Koto reminded. "Whatever decision you make, I'll be with you until the end. But if you want my advice, saving Naruto and telling him everything looks like the lesser of three evils; the odds for survival are against you, but it's better than no chance at all. Not to mention, you'll be giving other Guardians a chance to weather the coming tide. That and at the very least, you'll hurt that one back."

Many thoughts ran through Tayuya's head. She could very well _not_ forward the message and leave Naruto to his fate, but the guilt she'd suffer would be worse than the 'Light withdrawal.' On the other hand, at least she had a very slim chance that Naruto would be in a forgiving mood if she saved him. Still, there was no harm in giving the other Guardians a shot at surviving this. "Forward the message. Take it as far on the broadband as you can."

Koto wondered exactly what was going through its master's mind. Nonetheless, it complied; forwarding the message as far as it could. Any Ghost within range could pick it up with how wide-spectrum the signal was, letting their Guardians know what was going on. "It's done."

"Good," she said, "Like I told ya, I don't _expect_ any of it to get me out of this shit; if I'm gonna die, I might as well get some payback out of the deal."

…

{Play: "Dogfight" by Yuki Kajiura, from "Fate/Zero"}

[In the skies above Kaze no Kuni, approaching the borders of Hi no Kuni]

(Sayuri)

Sayuri felt the adrenaline high throughout the dogfight. The rush from chasing her prey towards Hi no Kuni at high speeds. It added another level to her high, knowing that a single mistake would end in plummeting to her 'death.' Every emotion was channeled into a predatory excitement gained from an ingenious prey that could shoot back. Trumping everything else however, was pure, unadulterated lust.

However, she could feel the adrenaline spiking as she picked up a high-powered, wide-spectrum signal broadcasted from her opponent. It carried a message to all Guardians, warning them of the Darkness's return and asking them to pass the message along. Just the threat of another Guardian coming in to assist her prey added to the fear and excitement she felt. All that on what was effectively Sayuri's first time flying.

From the level of skill he'd displayed throughout the dogfight, it was clear to Sayuri that Naruto also enjoyed flying. The fact that he was dodging her Void blasts and turning her own seekers against her spoke volumes of a skill gained through several years worth of experience. Despite the chaotic desperation of the 'dogfight', Sayuri could not help but find a strange and twisted brand of serenity and beauty in it. _How beautiful! It's like we're dancing!_

"Oh Naruto-kun," she sang to herself, dodging a hail of bullets from his ship, "It's just so cold and lonely without you. And I so desperately want to show you the glory of _my_ god, as we _commune_ together in the Darkness…but above all, I want you to worship _me!"_

As their ships danced through the air, Sayuri tightened her grip in the controls. Her fighter was designed after and inspired by the venerable Agonarch Karve. It was a bladed ship of steely bone, lightning-fast nerve, and strong sinew that served as an interceptor against the Taken King's enemies. It was equal parts machine and creature, responding to her neurological commands like an extension of her actual body. A pair of handheld organs in the throne allowed her to control the vessel via synaptic commands. There was no need for an exposed cockpit or fancy machinery; not when she was able to reach out through the Darkness, locking her homing bolts to their targets with her mind. All the advantages of becoming one with the steed.

With the ability to see through her ship's eyes, she could aim her Void bolts with pinpoint precision. Still, she was careful so as not to hit the cockpit. A stray shot could destroy his Ghost, preventing him from resurrecting and potentially killing him for good. She had another chance to take him alive, and she refused to screw it up like she did almost three years ago. However, Sayuri missed him as he vanished into the clouds, earning the two of them a reprieve as they broke off.

Her concentration was broken upon picking up feedback as Naruto hailed her. "For an enemy of the Light, you're not really serious about killing me, are you?" he asked, "Since when has the Darkness succeeded in Taking a Guardian?"

"Who said I was a Guardian? The Darkness took me while I was alive," she replied, the word 'Guardian' watering her mouth, "It promised that I could have the power to take whatever I want, if I sacrificed myself to it; well I sacrificed, then took everything to my heart's content. Even now, I'm taking things to sate a certain…" she paused, trying to find the right word as she avoided another storm of bullets and fired back at him, "…Hunger, in my heart. Sadly, no matter how much I took, nothing satisfied. And right now, I crave you so _very_ badly, my prey; I want your powerful Light, your reanimated flesh, your beautiful soul…your _everything!_ "

…

(Naruto)

 _Not good,_ Naruto thought to himself. Definitely not the response he was looking for. A random attack would've been a significantly better scenario, but his assailant was coming _specifically_ for him. The worst part of it was that he had no idea why.

"Were the situation different, I would've said you've got yourself another girlfriend," Ryūsei commented dryly.

"If I knew what she looked like, I might wonder that too," Naruto snarked back, "Are all our downloaded missile mods on Gloriole's drive yet?"

"The new ones? No," answered Ryūsei, its eye darting around, "Right now, the Bunker-buster is the strongest we've got, but that thing's way too slow. There's also the Hellfire, Cluster, Super-Sidewinder, and Stinger."

"Then load up a Bunker-buster, three dumb Stingers, and a couple of Clusters."

"The Stingers I can get ready for you in about twenty seconds, fifteen without the trackers; the Clusters, thirty. The Bunker-buster is gonna take a full minute. I'm currently rerouting power to the Glimmer Forges to make them all at the same time."

As the Glimmer Forge was set to reloading the ship's missile pods, the ship's AI modified each one. It would take longer to ensure that said modifications were able to act as they were supposed to. Features such as advanced target tracking systems needed more time to be fabricated.

"Do it! And switch the guns to Flak rounds!"

"Are you sure about that?" asked Ryūsei.

"Our normal rounds aren't getting through her shields! We need all the power we can get!"

The Gloriole Jump's main guns worked on the same principle as a railgun (albeit on full-auto). The rounds fired started off as 30-mm ball bearings that were extruded into large, heavy stakes and sent down range into a target. A good weapon for tearing through armor and flesh to be sure, but he needed more 'oomph' to break through his opponent's shields. Setting the guns to 'flak' slowed down the rate of fire, but made it such that the rounds effectively became low-spread shotgun shells. They were specialized for dealing with distant targets, but they could hypothetically deal with enemy shields very well up close. "Done. We're ready to blow her out of the sky."

"What I wouldn't give to try out that reverse-engineered Cabal tech right now," Naruto grumbled.

"Let's focus on what we've got," Ryūsei suggested, "We'll have an opportunity; just not yet…field-testing something that is only in the prototype stage in the middle of a dire situation won't help our situation any."

Preparations complete, Naruto focused on avoiding another swarm of homing lasers by rolling away. He closed distance to fire a Stinger as he righted his ship, before looping upwards in an Immelmann turn. He hazarded a glance below, watching the rocket streak towards the Hive fighter. The explosion was small, but it gave him an opening by discharging a massive amount of electricity. Immediately Naruto pulled both triggers, flak rounds exploding against tough, chitinous armor. The Hive fighter rolled to the side, his shots succeeding in sawing off a wing.

"SHIT!" he cursed, watching his opponent disappear under cloud cover. Whatever it was, it could really take a hit if it could still fly with just one wing. Unfortunately, it disappeared beyond the range of his instrumentation equipment before he could plan a follow-up shot. "Get the next Stinger ready. I have a feeling we're gonna have to target the fighter directly with it."

"Stinger ready."

"Good. Now we just have to keep an eye out for that fighter."

No words from the opponent this time; a very concerning thought. The Hive pilot usually took some time to mock him, or to banter. The fact that she chose not to say a word, or even laugh at his attempts to fight back was distressing. Add to the fact that her fighter was very fast and could not be detected until she got within dogfight range, and the worry was intensified.

Naruto kept his eyes peeled for the enemy, expecting her to ambush im from the clouds. Were he still alive, beads of sweat would have been trickling down his face under his sleek and rounded helmet. Instead, his power unconsciously radiated off his body, causing the heat sinks on his armor to glow a very luminescent orange. The Light coursed through his veins and his chakra system…ready to fire on demand to fuel his reflexes.

His tension was at its peak when he felt something hit the shields. Naruto had a look at the instrumentation, and found that it hit the Gloriole Jump on the side. "Ryūsei, the hell was that?!"

"We were hit with a high-powered energy beam," answered the Ghost, "We're down by a quarter of our shields; they're re-charging now, but we can only take three more shots before she can gut the Gloriole Jump in one shot."

"Do we know where it came from?"

"It was highly focused and hit from way beyond radar range. Looks like our Hive friend is trying to snipe us."

"Get the Cabal rounds ready," Naruto ordered.

Ryūsei swiveled to fix its Guardian with a stare, shell imitating an angry furrow. "No! We have no idea how they'll react to the railgun. For all we know…"

"I'm not using them immediately," Naruto interrupted sharply, "I'm hoping the situation doesn't get that bad. For now, keep the guns locked on flak, but be ready to swap out!"

The Ghost's shell opened and closed as it sighed in resignation. "Very well. Data for the Cabal rounds have been downloaded…they'll be the railgun's third option."

Naruto nodded, but kept his focus on the task at hand. He pitched Gloriole Jump upwards, putting all power to the thrusters. Another shot at him depleted his shields by another quarter, but he ignored it. If the enemy was hiding in the clouds beyond radar range, he would force her out of hiding. He needed to force her into another dogfight if he wanted to shoot her down.

Another Void laser bolt drained him down to 25% shield power. "How far are we from the edge of clouds?!" he barked, infusing the Glimmer with his Light.

"Not far now."

A final shot drained the shield power to 0%, just in time for Gloriole Jump to break out of the clouds. Naruto grinned at his success. "Then we've made it!"

The clouds parted, revealing the argent moon standing out against the night sky. In addition to making sniping difficult for her, it allowed him to look down upon his opponent, while also increasing the velocity of his rounds. With any luck, she would take the bait and come on out of the clouds.

"We're being hailed again," Ryūsei noted.

"Patch her through," Naruto grunted, orienting his jumpship downwards for a better vantage point.

"You really think the Moon Goddess will favor you tonight?" taunted the Hive pilot, "How foolish! Then again, I suppose that's what really turns me on: once you're determined to win, you'll brute force your way to victory if that's what it takes."

Naruto hit the overhead PTT button. "Who the hell are you?!" he barked, "Why do you want me so badly?"

"Still don't recognize me? After all this time?" There was faux hurt in the Hive pilot's voice, followed by sinister laughter. "I suppose that's for the best. Names should always be given in a more…intimate situation, don't you think?"

"Well, why don't you come out of the clouds, then?" he challenged, "We can get plenty intimate out here."

"Fufu…And I thought _I_ was the exhibitionist here. No matter…if you won't come to me, then I'll come to you!"

Naruto saw a green cloud expanding in the distance. He had no idea what it was, but locked all weapons onto it. Much of the power was routed the engines, speeding him towards the green cloud. Instinct commanded him to fire everything at the target, all his missiles, all his flak rounds, sent flying. The enemy fighter's shields flared before they overloaded, allowing the rest of the rounds to weaken its bony armor further, going so far as to overheat on the flak rounds and switching back to the auto rounds. The remaining Stinger missiles stunned the target with their electrical discharge, Clusters unleashing a storm of guided munitions that were curving in the air, targeting the sinewy parts of the creature. All that was trumped by the Bunker-Buster, finally obliterating the Hive monster as he pulled up to survey the damage.

"We got her!" Naruto cheered, before calming down. Save for the prototype Cabal rounds, he was effectively out of ammo. He was vulnerable for a full minute, as the Glimmer forges required time to cool down before replenishing his ammo stores. Given sufficient time to stabilize the flow of Glimmer, he would be ready to fight.

Ryūsei looked back at Naruto, shivering. Something was off. "We're being hailed," it croaked, clearly disturbed.

 _No, it can't be…!_ Naruto gave Ryūsei a nervous nod.

"Did you think me defeated?!" boomed a flanged, female voice.

Naruto pressed the overhead PTT button. "How the hell'd you survive that?! And how are you on the channel?!"

"A girl's gotta have secrets, don't you think?" the Hive pilot evaded blatantly, "As to your second question; with the Darkness at my command, there's nothing I can't do!"

"You're pretty confident for someone that's falling to her death," Naruto reminded.

Any other words he had on mind were cut out when he heard something hit the top of his jumpship. It was soon followed by the sound of something screeching against metal and slowing to a stop. "Who said I was falling?" taunted the Hive pilot, "I'm already on you!"

Naruto quickly rolled the Gloriole Jump, hoping to shake off whatever was on his back. The sound of something coming loose emboldened him to gun the engines. Confident enough that he shook off whatever it was, Naruto slowed down the engines while keeping an eye open on the screen.

"Whatever it was, it was small," observed Ryūsei, "Human-sized. It didn't register on the radar, but showed up on the motion tracker. Problem is that it moved so fast, I didn't detect it until it was too late."

 _This is bad,_ he thought to himself, _the other weapons need a steady flow of Glimmer to work! I don't have any other choice!_ "Ryūsei, I think now's the time to field-test the Cabal rounds."

"They're ready and waiting…not that we have any other options for fighting back at the moment."

Naruto nodded, flipping a switch in front of him. The experimental Cabal rounds were chambered in the Gloriole Jump's railguns. "Get ready to back up Gloriole's AI into your shell. I'll be damned if I lose her for good."

There was a moment of silence as Ryūsei went to work, preparing to instantly back up a copy of the ship's AI at a moment's notice. "Done. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Pray that these rounds actually work and get plan B ready."

Ryūsei nodded in agreement. It just so happened that Naruto was ready for such a situation, even though it seemed unlikely to ever happen. The Ghost was on standby, ready to transmat its Guardian out of danger, as well as whatever salvageable weapons it could bring along.

Naruto kept his eyes open on the screen; watching out for enemy activity, periodically shifting his eyes to the motion tracker and back. Suddenly, Naruto spotted something flying in from the corner of his eye. It looked like some humanoid figure flying with large, webbed wings like a bat. He could see three glowing lights looking back at him from the shadow. There was no need to guess who it was flying right next to him…however, he was concerned about that huge, green, glowing thing it was carrying around. _Looks like a big freaking sword._

He didn't want to find out what it was that the Hive Flyer was intending to do with that glowing thing. Naruto rolled the ship to the side, causing the Hive flyer to do the same. Fortunately, he had the range advantage, as well as the fact that a jumpship was capable of turning on a dime. The latter of which, he used to orient the Gloriole Jump's guns on the target, and locked onto it as he cut the thrust.

Pressing both triggers had sent reverse-engineered Cabal rounds flying towards the enemy combatant as both guns slowly fired in sequence while the Hive flyer closed the distance very quickly. Much to Naruto's momentary surprise, the experimental bullets performed quite well. In addition to good muzzle velocity, he could see the target slowing down. _Microrockets indeed._

After a good sixteen rounds were fired from each gun, something finally went wrong. Naruto felt two explosions rocking the jumpship from both sides. "Gloriole Jump's main guns are down!" Ryūsei barked, "It'll take five minutes to repair them both…!"

Something landed on the Gloriole Jump's canopy. For the first time since the ambush, Naruto got a proper look at the Hive flyer: she had a humanoid figure, with armored arms and legs that terminated in claw-tipped fingers and toes. In one hand held a massive, bone sword with a glowing green aura. She wore a skull-helmet with v-shaped bone 'wings' sweeping back from the mandible, and an extra eye in the forehead. Bony plates of armor accentuated her human anatomy, each one resting on the part of the body it protected.

Naruto was frozen momentarily, feeling a wicked smile under the skull helmet. Shaking off his fear, he summoned The Last Word into his right hand and fired eight heavy-caliber rounds at the target. Fortunately, the rounds had enough force to penetrate the canopy; unfortunately, they barely made a dent in the target's plate armor. As he swung out the cylinder to reload, the Hive creature quickly crawled along the top of Gloriole, forcing him to switch the Jumpship on autopilot as he summoned a Machine Gun while turning on the new program installed in his helmet, allowing him to see through the hull. Iridium-core rounds were fired upwards through the ceiling in an attempt to intercept her. She was agile enough to dodge many of his shots, but her sword had glowed an even brighter green as she came to a stop just outside the engine room. The blade dug deep, penetrating the hull and allowing her to cut a man-sized square in the ceiling.

Cottoning on to her intentions, Naruto ran back to the cockpit as his adversary kicked in the square plate she'd cut out. He'd made it past the blast door when she'd slipped in through the hole, kicking off after landing to sprint towards him. A single button press slammed the blast doors shut, right in front of her face. It wasn't much, but it still bought Naruto more time to get to the pilot's seat and key in a code as the sword penetrated the metal doors, trying to cut through it with no miniscule amount of effort. He heard the hood open as the sword was pulled out of the door to turn it into a makeshift escape pod.

"Ryūsei, upload Gloriole's missile pods and detonate the rest of the ship! Now!"

A moment later a multitude of miniature explosions followed behind them as the cockpit began to run out of fuel. All that was left was power to steer the escape pod as it descended well out of Kaze no Kuni, and into Hi no Kuni.

"Think she's finally dead?" asked Ryūsei.

"What do you think!?" Naruto shot back, guiding the escape pod to find an ideal place to land. "I swear, ever since I became a Paladin, my luck's been going down the shitter!"

"You never know," reassured his Ghost, "Look, if it makes you feel better, let's pretend for a moment that she didn't survive the explosion and…"

Ryūsei was cut off when Naruto heard something landing on the escape pod, followed by a blade cutting into the blast doors. "Get the missile pods ready! Super-sidewinders on all tubes!"

Naruto unbuckled himself from the seat, smashing through the bullet-riddled windshield just as the Hive creature kicked in the door. As he turned around, Ryūsei began forming a massive shape with its Light, instantly creating a gigantic weapon made from both of Gloriole Jump's missile pods strapped together with a pair of grips perpendicular to each other along its length. The grip parallel with the pods held a trigger to fire the missiles; the perpendicular grip closer to the business end was attached to a mechanical block containing the targeting laser.

As he broke himself out of his freefall, Naruto reached upwards to grab onto the emergency weapon. His right hand grabbed onto the rear grip, both hands finding the triggers. It was possible to fire this emergency rocket launcher instantly; but if he wanted to lock onto targets, the foregrip contained a trigger that would activate the targeting laser.

Seeing his target running out to chase him, Naruto leveled the missile pods at his opponent, and let loose an entire barrage of six missiles at his target. Upon detonation, he could see the air being warped around the escape pod in the six areas he shot it in. Super-Sidewinders differed from the normal Sidewinder missiles in that they were faster, had a stronger blast radius and tracked targets far more aggressively. To further differentiate them from normal Sidewinders, they had a special Void Light warhead that would open a miniature 'black hole' upon detonation, which would suck everything within the blast radius into one little point in space. However, to minimize collateral damage caused by the missiles, the Research and Development Initiative had found a way to make the black hole come to a gradual death in three seconds.

As the three seconds passed, Naruto continued to watch as the 'black hole warheads' sucked in the entirety of the escape pod into six ridiculously small points. He made sure to target certain areas to ensure maximum suction of all parts of the cockpit. However, knowing his luck so far, he needed to be ready for anything. "Ryūsei, load Clusters in all six tubes."

"The Glimmer forges will have them ready in about fifteen seconds."

"Well then double time it! I don't think that was enough to kill her for good!"

"It's as fast as it can go, even after cannibalizing the remaining Glimmer forges!"

"Damn it!" Naruto cursed. Still, he kept an eye out for anything strange, his fingers twitching in anticipation as the tails of his tabard whipped around in the draft. His fears were realized when a glowing green cloud opened in the air far above him. Naruto trained the rangefinder onto it, the targeting laser pointing at the cloud, waiting for solid data to be fed to the missiles.

A very slender form darted out of the green cloud, Naruto's helmet zooming in to reveal that it was the Hive creature. At this point, he could care less how she survived; she was going down one way or another. "Naruto, Clusters are ready."

Naruto smiled under his helmet. It was just in time too; the targeting laser had the Hive creature's telemetry locked on. "Time to light up the sky!"

All six missile tubes launched their payload. The top of each Cluster missile split into six sections, launching micro-missiles halfway from their target, their tops splitting off to allow twelve small missiles to rocket from the chamber. It was a specialized type of missile that was designed to go after fast-moving targets, or to kill something very thoroughly without resorting to the Super-sidewinders. Nonetheless, the six missiles unleashed a swarm of seventy-two micro-missiles that streaked and curved through the air, causing their target to practically dance in the air to avoid getting hit.

This did not deter her in the slightest; she summoned a weapon of bone and sinew, with a drum magazine underneath. She unleashed a storm of glowing green full-auto fire as she flew away. However, his opponent wasted no time in closing in on him as she dove through the sky, avoiding micro-missiles and shooting them down as they closed in.

As she closed in, Naruto realized that his Cluster missiles were ready. A pull on the foregrip's trigger had trained the targeting laser on his target; but before he could get a complete telemetry, the Hive creature had descended upon him quickly, a bone katana now in her hands. He brought his missile pod up to guard, watching as the blade cut into the barrels before tossing the support weapon aside as it stuck in the Light-infused metal while summoning The Last Word back into his hand. The barrel of the Hand-Cannon was leveled at her forehead, before it was knocked away. The Hive creature's free hand reached for his neck, getting a solid grip while her other hand had a firm grip on the wrist holding the Hand-Cannon.

The Hive creature chuckled as Naruto struggled to get out of her grip, her skull-helmet made it even more disturbing. "Now I've got you," she said, her wings slowing their descent, "It was a long fight and it was worth it…because now you're mine!"

"Not for long!" he barked, breaking his gun hand free. He placed the barrel of his revolver against the Hive Creature's mask and fired, disorienting her and dropping him. Just as well; they were near the ground anyway.

"Ryūsei, I'm getting the prototype Scout Rifle ready!" Naruto groused, streamlining his body to fall faster, "my shots aren't doing jack-shit except piss her off."

The Ghost sighed. "Well, if you're going to try out reverse-engineered Cabal rounds, why not try them in reverse-engineered Cabal _guns_?"

"Fuck off!"

As he neared the treeline, Naruto righted himself and activated his Jump Jets. He didn't dare summon his Sparrow; it would just draw attention. The Jump Jets slowed his momentum as he landed on a particularly thick tree branch. His reanimated muscles remembered the amount of force needed to kick off, then land on a lower branch before hitting the ground.

[Play: "Father Gascoigne, the Hunter", from "Bloodborne"]

True to form, Naruto rushed to take cover behind a large tree, his mind working fast to summon a new weapon. The Last Word had dissipated, replaced with a larger, simpler, and angular form; it was a two-handed weapon by virtue of its design, with a very blocky look. The weapon he chose had changed from the original Cabal slug rifle, most prominent of which being the longer barrel. A field test would see if it was a worthy addition to the Guardian arsenal.

As he heaved a sigh of relief, Naruto was about to quickly inspect his gun when he noted that he wasn't alone. Staring back at him was Haruno Sakura; she'd gotten stronger since he'd last seen her, as Naruto could see a hint of a slightly more muscular frame holding up what looked like a bundle of firewood. She dropped what she was doing, obviously ready to attempt a capture.

"Get back!" he barked, waving his arm in warning, "I'm being chased…!"

Before any more words could be exchanged, the thick tree was bisected from above, forcing Naruto to roll forward, aiming his new Slug Rifle upwards as the Hive creature descended upon him with bone-blade in hand.

Three pulls of the trigger sent high-caliber microrockets streaking towards his opponent. Two missed wide, but one of them successfully hit her shoulder, exploding and cracking her bony armor…not that it mattered. Naruto raised his Slug Rifle, focusing Light into the emitter on his wrist, shaping it into a small dome. With his buckler ready, he backhanded the Hive creature across the face. With the momentum of the parry, Naruto smashed her in the helmet with his rifle as she tried to recover, knocking her back and chipping the bony armor.

The Hive creature kneed Naruto in the abdomen before kicking him square in the chest, knocking him over. Before he could get back up with his Slug Rifle, the Hive Creature pounced on him, kicked the gun out of his hand and knelt on his shoulders. The cackle she gave out increased the helplessness he felt as she pinned him down, punching at his helmet until it gave way from the impact. "Now you are mine…" she said triumphantly, her laugh sounding very mechanical. As her victorious laughter died down, she began to caress his bare face. "And this time, there's no escape for you…!"

She was cut off when she was grabbed by the wings and thrown off him by Sakura. Naruto stood back up, shaking his head as his helmet reformed over his head. "Don't think I've forgotten about you," said Sakura, cracking her knuckles as she turned to face him. "You're coming with me to Konoha for questioning." As she said this, she slipped into the Gōken taijutsu stance. "And I will break every bone in your body if I have to."

"That's nice and all," Naruto groused, popping his neck back in place, "But I don't think we're done yet."

"Well isn't this interesting?" asked the Hive creature, causing Sakura to snap towards the Hive creature. As she stepped in with a bone sword in hand, Naruto pointed his Slug Rifle at her. "I never expected _you_ of all people to come to Naruto's rescue, given their orders on capturing one. It seems we have a three-way free-for-all."

Sakura grunted. "Seems so. But why do you want Naruto so badly?"

The Hive creature chuckled. "I 'm just a simple creature out to get what I what I want. Right now, I want to take Naruto home with me. Oh, the things I'll do with him…you don't want to know~"

{Play: "On the Precipice of Defeat" from "Bleach"}

All three stared each other down waiting for the others to make a move. Naruto began to go through scenarios in his head on to end the fight without Sakura getting hurt. If she got injured beyond the point of being able to heal herself, he would have to take her to the nearest hospital…which to his knowledge, meant going to Konoha and being forced to surrender himself to the authorities. In any case, he had to get serious if he wanted to end the fight quickly…then again, he had a feeling he'd been cursed with the spearman's abysmal luck.

"Lovely night we're having," Naruto sighed, holstering the Slug Rifle behind his back. His attention was turned towards the Hive creature; Sakura would have to wait. He thrust a hand forward, summoning a spear of Arc light into it, shifting stances to hold it in both hands; it was roughly as tall as he was and had a t-shaped crossbar with a butt-spike at the other end. "Best time to go hunting."

…

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **Gah, another long chapter…and action-packed too. With any luck, this will satisfy you readers.**_

 _ **Sol: Doubt it!**_

 _ **UO: They're never satisfied! They're like zombies! Or Freddy Fazbear**_

 _ **NS: Somethin' cut you off there Osprey?**_

 _ **UO: No, just (Phone Rings) Yes? (Listens to Phone) Damn It Nora. Guys, I gotta get back to my studio, it got wrecked…again. Nora found the cannons used for 2nd Magnolia and you know it goes with that guild.**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Patella—the kneecap**_

 _ **Mandible—the lower jaw bone**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Tayuya's sidearm—the Queen's Choice/Vestian Dynasty.**_

" _ **Did you think me defeated!?"—The Gravemind's boast on the second-to-last mission on "Halo 3"**_

 _ **Sayuri's appearance—picture a more well-armored Infested Kerrigan, mixed in with Oryx.**_

 _ **Naruto's Luck as a Paladin—A joke from Fate/stay night about Lancers having horrible luck**_

 _ **The prototype Slug Rifle—pretty much how it looked before Bungie decided to shorten the barrel and effectively make it into a carbine.**_


	17. Dark Huntress

_**A/N: And now the conclusion**_ _ **…**_ _ **along with a change to the M-rating**_ _ **. Do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

[Somewhere in Hi no Kuni]

{Play: "Moon Presence" from "Bloodborne"}

Naruto fought with a cross-spear made of Arc Light, keeping opponents at bay with quick thrusts and wide sweeps. The t-shaped profile of his spear made it difficult to dodge his attacks, while also translating every swing into a thrust; it also enabled him to use it like a short-bladed scythe, giving him the ability to pull in or decapitate his opponent. To ensure maximum options for combat, he also made use of the butt-spike to keep opponents at a distance. With his Light empowering the Arc Glaive, he could even use the shaft to block the Hive creature's bone katana and push her back.

Sakura leaped in, a heavy punch aimed at Naruto's face. Naruto formed a small buckler, quickly backhanding Sakura's fist out of the way. He could feel the strain on his arm as the hard light shield shattered; nonetheless, it successfully deflected the blow. With his erstwhile opponent staggered with the shield-bash, Naruto grabbed Sakura by the arm before flipping her around and wrapping his arm around her neck. His intention was to catch her in a blood-choke, squeezing at her jugular veins and carotid arteries to take her out non-lethally; which would have worked had she not flipped him over her shoulder, forcing him to release his grip. As he landed, Naruto swept his Arc Glaive wide, causing Sakura to leap over the shaft. Smiling under his helmet, Naruto transitioned out of the sweep, grabbed Sakura by the arm and threw her to the ground. Before he could do anything else, Naruto noticed the Hive creature leaping in from nowhere. He dove to the side while Sakura rolled away, disappearing into the woods.

Landing, he turned his attention back to the Hive creature, just in time to catch her charging him, a bone katana in hand. Whatever fear he felt was instead channeled into bloodlust as he changed his grip on the spear, charging his Light through its shaft and sparking the tip with blue lightning, before throwing it. The javelin streaked through the air with a crack of displaced sound. The Hive Creature had no choice but to try and block it, skidding back as her armored toes dug into the ground. Naruto's Light made the spear strong enough to continue its trajectory, penetrate her armor and knock her back behind a bush.

 _I'm not sure how well Sakura can handle herself,_ Naruto thought, _But if she's trained like Lee, then using my Sparrow to escape may be useless altogether._ As he took his moment of reprieve, he knew that this would be a close- to mid-range fight due to the large number of trees in the area. Naruto silently summoned The Last Word into his hands instead of the Slug Rifle. To be fair, the experimental gun worked surprisingly well, boasting great stopping power and muzzle velocity. On the other hand, it was too difficult to use in close-quarters combat; its nature as a semi-automatic Scout Rifle forced the user to take their time and line up their shots, a problem made worse with a trigger action that worked barely faster than a sniper rifle. _I'll worry about Sakura and getting out of here later. I've got to finish off that psycho before she hurts someone else._

As he took quiet steps towards the Hive creature, Naruto watched every subtle detail he could. Something about her movements seemed familiar to him however, as he checked the cylinder of his hand cannon. He crouched, creeping tentatively towards the bush, ready to pounce and fill her guts with high caliber lead in seconds. Single shots to the plates didn't do much, which meant that he would have to aim for the chinks in her armor for it to count. As he heard her groaning in pain, Naruto knew she was still unconscious. Naruto sprung up over the bushes, revolver at his hip…only to look on in shock as he saw nothing; just the outline of a body and a puddle of blood.

A sinister cackle startled Naruto, shifting aim up at the trees. "I can't believe you fell for that!" taunted the Hive creature, "And since you're playing with guns now, it's only fair."

Large, bony spikes darted in from behind, forcing Naruto to roll to the side. As he got back up, he turned around and placed his free hand on the hammer of the gold-plated revolver, firing three shots in response. The Hive Creature leaped out of the branches, flipping overhead with a large, black hand cannon in her hands aiming down at him. Naruto hopped back, raising his revolver and fanning the hammer as she closed in. Bone darts streaked at him as he back pedaled away.

The cannon clicked empty, forcing Naruto to holster the pistol and form the buckler over his wrist as the demoness landed. He backhanded her, but she ducked under his blow, only to take a mean left hook to the helmet. Naruto grabbed her by the wrist and flipped her away, which was no easy task given how heavy she was. He wasted no time as he rapidly reloaded the massive revolver while rushing her, his free hand back on the hammer.

As he sighted her, Naruto was tackled from the side by a pink and red blur. They landed in a heap near a tree. Naruto growled at Sakura, his helmet disappearing as he fixed her with a glare. "The hell's wrong with you!? I almost had her!"

"I don't care about whatever you Guardians are fighting over; you're _both_ going down and you will answer to Lady Tsunade!"

Naruto sputtered angrily, before huffing. "We'll talk later; right now, if you keep this shit up, you're gonna get us _both_ killed."

"That's right, argue the night away while I kill you both!" taunted the Hive Creature, standing back up. "For being such a pest, I'll enjoy torturing muscle-head to death." She then turned her head to regard Naruto as his helmet reformed. " _You_ my prey, I'll be killing in a totally… _different_ way. I'll bet you're plenty delicious…"

"Sorry, I'd taste bad," Naruto snarked, "Undead meat and all."

"You forget that you're speaking to someone that's also died," the Hive creature retorted, "I don't really mind that you're undead too. But your Light?" she wrapped her arms around her own curves, shivering slightly beneath armored hands.

Sakura regarded Naruto with a bewildered look on her face. "What's she talking about?"

"I'll tell you later, if we survive this," Naruto dismissed, his attention still on the demoness, "right now, she needs to die; if we don't kill her, she'll threaten every other Guardian in the world. So either help me deal with her, or get the hell out of my way."

The demoness let out a sinister laugh. " _Help_ you? That stubborn, muscle-headed bimbo? We both know that she will do no such thing. She'll just punch your lights out when you're done dealing with me."

"Can it!" Naruto barked, forming a metal spike in his free hand. At one end was a barbed, solid metal tip with sharp blades for sticking into any surface. The other had a glass sphere containing a pulsating blue light. "Let's see how you like this!"

He threw it, the tip digging into the ground. The pulsating light intensified, washing the area with a blinding electric blue aura. As the light died down, Sakura and the demoness lowered their arms, checking their bodies for more injuries. Satisfied they'd found none, they watched a slightly blue Naruto holstering the revolver to summon his sword in both hands. "Now shit's gonna get real."

Naruto swung his longsword to bisect the demoness, forcing her to bring out the infamous Hive cleaver. Light-infused steel bit into organic metal as the hybrid blocked, pushed back the blade with enough force to stagger Naruto and brought the flat of the sword into his knees. The demoness was hit with a bolt of Arc Light that knocked her back and melted through parts of her armor.

As Naruto hit the ground, he yelped in pain as the bones in his leg were smashed around the patella. He flipped himself over, digging the tip of his sword into the ground and propping himself up. Sakura rushed him, intent on crippling Naruto and running off with his body. As she tackled him, breaking several of his ribs on impact and sending him flying into another tree, another bolt of Arc Light bounced through the air towards Sakura. She ducked under the bolt, but still wound up with a burned arm.

Naruto hit the tree at high speed, summoning his sword into his hand to prop himself back up. The pain from the broken leg was already dying out as it quickly healed, which meant that he no longer needed a crutch. On the other hand, the newly-broken ribs, sections of spine, temporal bone, iliac crest, along with an entire arm and crushed organs would need more time. _Good thing I can heal faster. Any other Guardian would need a lot more time to recover._

As he limped back to the fight, Naruto noted that the electric blue aura had dissipated from the area. The Lancer's Fury Ward was a special grenade, designed to make millions of 'nanobots' that would drift around in the air. Once active, whenever an enemy hurt the owner and his friends, the nanobots would swarm together and fire Arc Light at the offender. Shooters within its short range would take back damage equal to the amount they dished out, but melee fighters would take almost triple damage back.

Since Sakura was only a normal kunoichi, he worried that she was caught in the full blast. She was likely waiting for him to get back to nail him while he was still recovering. _I'll worry about her later…gotta make sure that psycho-bitch stays dead, or she'll chase us all the way to Iwa!_

As he neared the clearing, Naruto saw that Sakura was nowhere to be found. With her injury, she should've taken the opportunity to hide herself, heal her burn, then ambush him. Much to his concern, he also saw that the Hive demoness was also gone. _Where is she?_

"Naruto, we're being hailed," said Ryūsei, hidden away in Naruto's armor, "It's _her_."

Naruto sighed angrily, reaching up to an earpiece mounted in his helmet. " _You've a neat new weapon there,"_ came the flanged voice of the hybrid, Naruto could hear someone groaning in pain in the background. It was here that he had a pretty good idea what had just happened, " _and here I thought you Guardians didn't have a sense of creativity."_

"Yeah, well, we're full of surprises. Now where'd you take Sakura?"

The demoness scoffed. " _You'd think with the amount of times she's been an annoyance, you'd be a little angrier with her. All that meddling, and you're still concerned for her well-being?"_

"So what? She _was_ my teammate. Besides, I believe you'd do worse to her."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the conversation, save for Sakura moaning in pain. " _Heh, then I suppose it'd make this a lot easier then. I suppose you've taken a good look at my prize when I was shooting at you with it?"_

"Any Guardian would know that damn thing," Naruto answered, remembering what he'd read about the hand cannon, "It's not been seen for millennia, but we all know the legends. How you got your hands on the Thorn is beyond me."

" _Very good, you have a good eye,"_ mocked the demoness, a clicking sound as the loading cylinder spun, " _Now, I know I felt you reaching out through the Light to see me during our…heh, dance in the sky. So why don't you reach out now and tell me what you see?"_

Naruto reached out through the Light. Within seconds, he found his quarry hidden in a rocky outcrop nearby to the northwest. Sakura was beaten, bruised and bloody and her hands and feet had the gun's darts penetrating her hands. Naruto also saw she had the Thorn leveled at Sakura's forehead.

…

(Sakura)

Sakura groaned awake. "What…what's going on?"

Last thing she remembered, she was healing herself in preparation to ambush Naruto. She'd wait patiently to strike and then take him as far away as she could before this psycho-bitch took him first (the idea of saving him was a top priority, the standing mission was second). Before she could execute her strategy, Sakura was beaten down, grabbed from behind, her arm lifted up while another arm snaked around her neck. The lack of oxygen being carried up to her head from the blood choke had caused her to black out before waking up here.

As she tried to get up, she winced in pain before looking on in horror. Her hands had bone spikes stuck through them, stopping her from casting any jutsu. A look up had her facing the business end of a large weapon. "I knew it! You two are working together! Let me go and I'll go easy on you!"

The Hive creature laughed. "Oh, you naïve little bitch; why don't I give you a reality check?" she taunted sweetly, "You dumbass shinobi are hunting the only things that _could_ stop us. Your fear of the unknown and fear of progress are keeping the _real_ heroes from doing their job. See, the Guardians are trying to stop us and bring about a Golden Age, yet they're treated like criminals wherever they go."

The witch grabbed Sakura's face, seemingly reveling in her helplessness. "And the kicker is that right now, we can do _anything_ we want because the Light is still _weak._ You ninjas will be extinction of all that live here. Let me show what happens when the Darkness gets especially…"

The demoness paused momentarily, looking around like she'd just noticed she was being watched. It was a feeling that Sakura shared. "You enjoying the view?" she asked, to nobody in particular, "To be honest, voyeurism doesn't suit you. Then again, you're welcome to look at _me_ all you want."

From Sakura's perspective, the demoness was speaking with herself; then again, her mannerisms made it clear that someone was speaking back to her, while her focus was back on her. "I trust you know what I want?" she asked again, "And you understand what'll happen if you don't behave yourself…?"

"I'll know when you get here; if you can reach out through the Light to see me, I can reach out through the Darkness to see _you_ ," she sang, "When you get here, no sudden moves or I make good on my word to torture her to death; and I'll make you watch, and worse…"

Once done with her conversation, the armored witch turned her attention back to Sakura, almost reveling in the amount of pain she'd caused her. "You're in luck. Your… _Guardian_ angel is coming to save you. But in the meantime, why don't we have a little more _fun_?" she asked, with no small amount of wicked enthusiasm.

Sakura tried to move her feet, wincing pain through the soles. There were a pair of sharpened bone darts piercing her sandals. Fortunately, both of them were in the meaty space between bones, but it still hurt like hell. There was no escape. "Normally, these darts would have killed you with a curse," explained the demoness, "But I've found that letting the curse run its course before using them works wonders for torture. While we're at it, why don't we get ourselves acquainted…?"

The demoness' skull helmet let out a snap and a pressurized hiss as steam blasted between the teeth. The helmet parting at the seam between the mandible and the rest of the skull to reveal a visage that frightened Sakura to no end. The addition of an extra eye in her forehead did not change the fact that she recognized this person. "Or reacquainted…"

…

(Naruto)

Naruto rushed through the forest, his revolver in hand. Sakura was being held hostage and he needed to hustle; his "Vision" ability needed him to keep still in one spot to make a more accurate picture of the area. Due to his lack of focus, he'd taught himself to make a picture as accurate as possible, in a short period of time.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" asked Ryūsei, hiding itself in Naruto's armor.

"We don't have a choice," the Guardian answered, closing in on the meeting place, "We have to deal with that psycho one way or another. Even worse, we have a hostage situation."

"Just be careful then, she's no slouch in close quarters either."

"Got it."

As he neared the area, Naruto noted that Sakura was propped up against the tree. He ran straight to her, fingers pressed to her throat for a pulse as he looked around for his opponent. The blond boy let out a sigh of relief; there was still life in her. It wasn't clear what the demoness had done to her; just that Sakura was knocked out, with spikes from the Thorn jabbed through her hands and feet and a possible knockout blow.

"Hang on, Sakura. First thing after I'm done with that crazy bitch is to get you help," he promised quietly, eyes trained on the branches, "Even if I have to go back to Konoha to get it for you."

"As if I'll let you get that far," taunted a flanged voice from behind him, "Although, if you're really worried about the banshee, don't you worry; I wouldn't be sated by her. There's no Light within her, beyond the spark of her life…she's barely even a snack. You, on the other hand are all really I want, my prey~"

Naruto whipped around, The Last Word in hand and pressed to demoness' armored belly, ready to shoot through the chinks in her armor. The Hive creature on the other hand leveled her accursed Thorn at his face. There was an almost relaxed slack in her poise, confident in her victory.

"It's almost fitting really, our choice of weapons," she noted casually, her head tilted to the side, "The Last Word, fast-firing signature weapon of the ancient Guardian, Jaren Ward. It served him well, before it was given to his successor: renegade Hunter Shin Malphur. Oh yes, the Darkness told me much…like how Dredgen Yor slew Jaren Ward with his Thorn, before he himself was killed by a young Shin Malphur."

"And what makes you think you're gonna survive this?" Naruto mocked, focusing Light in a free hand behind him, shaping it into a grenade.

"For one reason: you can't put me down," taunted the demoness, her eyes briefly flashing from an eerie green to a vicious red, "No matter how many times you kill me, I'll just keep coming back for you…"

Naruto ducked his head, slamming his palm into her abs mid-sentence with enough force to knock her back. The glowing ball stuck to her abs was a Flux Grenade, a handheld sticky-bomb. Before she could properly react, the grenade detonated, knocking her further back. With trained precision, Naruto emptied the cylinder of his hand cannon into his opponent, aiming for the chinks in her armor. He summoned his longsword into both hands and charged the hive creature. The blade was brought down on her, only to be blocked with her Hive cleaver in both hands, and was knocked back.

As he regained his balance, Naruto hopped over another crippling swing of the cleaver before changing the grip of his sword as he closed in. This time, he had one hand on the blade; a push on the grip would allow the light-infused sword to penetrate the chinks in her armor. As he guided the thrust, the hybrid dispelled her cleaver and backflipped away from the blade. Naruto changed grips to put both hands on the blade, turning the sword into an improvised mace to save energy for later; just a little more time and he would be able to summon the Arc Glaive.

Naruto leaped after the hybrid to smash in her armor with the guard. In response, she rolled towards him, tripping Naruto upon landing with a low sweep, and kicking him hard enough to kite him in the air. As he lost momentum in the air, the demoness kicked him even harder, sending him higher before springing up after him. She caught up with him, opening with a light kick that he blocked with his buckler. Using the strike to spin her in the air, the hybrid stomped him hard, using her total weight to accelerate his descent into the ground before allowing gravity to do the rest. At the same time, she shifted her weight to chase after him, spinning her body to build up momentum; as she neared the ground, the demoness landed an extremely heavy axe kick on her opponent.

Naruto formed his buckler and slammed it into the hybrid's foot. He could feel the bones in his arm snapping, a wet crack could be heard on contact, but it was still enough to deflect her blow with enough force that he had time to summon the Arc Glaive in his free hand. The cross-spear extended to its full length, the tip digging into the target's back while flipping Naruto onto his face.

The demoness recovered from the attack slightly, breaking her fall in a roll before finding the strength to stand back up. Naruto used his spear to prop himself back up, glaring at his opponent; it was clear that he'd missed a vital, otherwise she'd burn away into embers. The heat sinks of his armor glowed even brighter as trembled in fear, forcing his body to circulate more Light. She simply stood there and chuckled. "You were actually pretty forceful there—went pretty deep too. And that Arc Light…oooh~ , such power! You're going to take responsibility for that; after all, a girl never forgets the pleasure of her first time…!"

"Where the hell'd you learn that move?" he snarled, the bone and sinew in his arm reformed and reset before getting a more secure hold on the spear, "Only one person I know used that move…I was told she committed suicide on a ship."

"Suicide…? Is that what your 'intelligence network' has told you?" asked the demoness mockingly, taking a predatory step towards him, "I wonder…did she really kill herself on that ship~?"

Whatever else she was going to say trailed off as jets of steam gouted from the chinks in her armor, the glowing green lights of her eyes dimming out at the same time. Steely organic plates fell from her body, revealing pale, naked flesh underneath. As every piece of armor dropped off her body into a trail behind her, revealing a muscular frame. Her proportions were modest in comparison to Hinata's slightly curvier frame, but the streamlined form of the demoness' well-muscled body emphasized her more predatory nature. Nonetheless, he raised his spear, in preparation to end her rightly.

Pert and modestly-sized breasts swayed alluringly with every step, red nipples prominently stiff, while the mandible of her skull helmet fell off. Naruto noted her disturbing grin before the top of the helmet split down the middle. As both halves of the helmet fell to the side, raven hair was let loose from underneath, framing her face.

The identity of the demoness shocked Naruto to no end, but not enough to make him lose focus in keeping his spear. Her face was streamlined like a speedy predator, the toothy grin adding to the bloodthirsty appearance. In spite of all that, she was still very stunning if not disturbing. Black eyes that were once full of life seemed hollow with corruption and madness, joined with a third eye in her forehead—as though they would suck his soul into those abyssal depths.

"Or did she sacrifice herself to the Darkness in exchange for power overwhelming?" she finished, the flange in her voice suddenly gone…though the mocking, seductive tone remained.

"Sayuri?" Naruto finally asked, barely above a whisper.

"The one and only!" Sayuri answered, her grin widening.

As Sayuri walked closer, Naruto's grip on his spear tightened. "Get back!" he barked, suddenly leveling his spear at her, "Get back or I'll…"

"Or you'll what? Kill me…?" she interrupted, still striding confidently towards him with a sinister chuckle coming from her throat, "Are you going to pierce me with your spear again…? We both know you won't kill me and the same applies to me. The way I see it, the only way I'm going to take you home is if I get serious…"

"You _really_ don't want to do this, Sayuri," warned Naruto, the grip on his spear loosened for more options, "Deals with the Darkness never end well. Its flunkies will get you with big promises, then laugh just when you realize you'd made a crappy deal…just like with Dredgen Yor."

"Awww…but it's really not all that bad," she said, her naked curves still swaying, "After all, it got me closer to you."

She vanished. Naruto flinched, before putting his guard up. It disturbed him to no end, knowing that Sayuri was no longer in front of him; she was still in the area, evidenced by the sounds of rustling branches. He could feel his grip on the Arc Glaive quivering with the fear that his opponent could attack from anywhere. But then, he took a deep breath and channeled that fear into aggression…the tremors gradually slowed to a stop, his grip became steady.

"Once I get my hands on you, I'm going to hold on and never let go," she taunted, her voice echoing throughout the forest, "We'll walk through the eternal abyss together. You and me, journeying through the Darkness, hand in hand…"

Naruto tightened the grip on his spear, eyes darting around to find his opponent. His eyes wandered, trying to find her as he tried to follow her movements. Either Sayuri had found a way to turn invisible, or…

"…Just like I wanted, three years ago," Sayuri said, suddenly with sadness coloring her tone.

Naruto's eyes looked around in sadness. "Sayuri, whatever happened to you, we can fix this! All I wanted to do was get you to come home!"

Sayuri sighed. "But you _didn't_ get me back, Naruto. Not that it was your fault…after all, I _did_ kill you."

This was a moment where Naruto wished that the ancient Guardians _hadn't_ found a way to recover a soul. On the one hand, having Guardians with their memories intact meant that experiences would be transferred to the body, and thus making a more efficient soldier with the promise of a second chance at life. On the other, sometimes the Guardian would have an easier time of falling to the Darkness if they _didn't_ want to do things differently. That and there were always memories one would rather forget. He still remembered his first death. Arguing with Sayuri, trying to convince her to come home and forget about Orochimaru's offer of power; how she tried to do the opposite, imploring him to come with her.

" _Sayuri, don't do this! You can't trust Orochimaru! Whatever he said he'd give you, it's not worth it! Come home, let me help you get stronger!"_

" _And I want to help_ you _! Come with me and we'll evolve faster through him than we ever could in the village; then we can kill him together."_

The reluctance was still fresh in his mind as he fought Sayuri; every punch he landed felt like a knife jabbing him in the heart. However, he wasn't the only one that intended to take his mark alive; Sayuri fought to bring him with her to Otogakure. Eventually, they resorted to using their signature jutsu: Naruto charging Sayuri with his Rasengan as she countered with Chidori. Their attacks clashed, causing an explosion that sent Naruto over the edge of the waterfall.

He could still feel the phantom pain on his chest and the helplessness of his death. A large, sharp rock speared through his back, obliterating his heart, lungs and spine before finally splitting his chest apart. He felt especially hopeless when he couldn't feel his legs, and the life slowly left his body.

"It doesn't have to be this way," Naruto pleaded, desperate to avoid killing her, "we don't have to end up killing each other. Give me some time, let me bring you back into the Light."

"The thought that you can still _save_ me is amusing." Sayuri taunted.

"By the time you make me see the Light, we'll have already started our journey into the Dark." There were no echoes this time. Sayuri's voice was loud, clear, and right behind him. Naruto swiped his spear, only to watch in exasperation as Sayuri cartwheeled just off-reach of his hasty attack. He advanced with a flurry of high-speed thrusts, all of which she evaded; she practically danced around every jab, silently mocking his attempts to put her down. Sayuri's body flickered between her natural flesh tones and the darkened, ethereal glow associated with the Taken every time she took a hit.

Naruto had already mentally exchanged his sword for a new reverse-engineered weapon from the Cabal to hopefully drive Sayuri away. All preparations completed, he watched as Sayuri ducked under a heavy thrust and following through with a jump kick. Naruto hopped back, leaving behind an afterimage of himself before answering and twirling his Arc Glaive overhead, forcing more Arc Light into the shaft and turning it into a massive lightning bolt. As he landed, he used his momentum to plunge the lightning bolt into the ground, shouting, "Kazikli Bey!"

Sayuri was forced to backflip away as pillars of Arc Light shot up from the ground, pushing her further away from Naruto. As she landed on both feet, Naruto began to summon a massive weapon in both hands, held in a perpendicular grip. True to Cabal design aesthetics, it was blocky with four rotating barrels; apart from the cylindrical magazine drum beneath the gun, it was the only overtly round thing on the reverse-engineered heavy slug thrower. Compared to the original design, it was a sleeker and lighter crowd-control weapon without compromise to performance or ruggedness.

Naruto pulled the trigger of the gatling gun halfway, a mechanical whirring could be heard as he allowed it to spin up. As he pulled the trigger completely, Naruto could feel the recoil as the heavy slug thrower began to roar, unleashing a storm of high-caliber micro-rockets at a gradually increasing rate of fire. At first, controlling the weapon's recoil was like wrestling a wild mule; but the longer he held onto the trigger, the bullet spread began to tighten the faster it fired.

As he tracked his opponent, the surge of high-explosive rounds tore through the forest while Sayuri took cover. Something finally went wrong, as Naruto noted that the barrels were starting to glow a reddish orange before it clicked to a stop. Either the gun had a failsafe to prevent it from overheating, or he was already out of ammo. Before he could at least check his ammunition, Naruto received a radio signal from Sayuri.

He could hear her panting heavily on her side. " _Not bad at all; I had a hard time dodging that. Were I still human, you probably would have killed me very thoroughly. Now, I'm just killed."_

"You made a serious mistake, Sayuri," Naruto warned again, changing the drum mag, "I really didn't want to do this, but you gave me no choice."

Sayuri cackled as Naruto allowed the gun to cool down. He walked into the kill zone, about to finish her off. " _Save your explanations; I'll always love you. Besides, no matter how many times you kill me, I'll just keep coming back for you. After all, hybrids of the Hive can still ascend."_

This was not good; unless Ascended Hive were killed in their own Ascendant Realm, they could always come back from the dead. "You can come back as much as you like, but one of these days I'm gonna save you from the Darkness."

" _You brave fool, the deal's already done,"_ Sayuri said sadly, her voice weakening, " _you're too late; no going back for me. All I can do now is collect on my end of the bargain…"_

Before he could say anything else, his connection with Sayuri was severed. Naruto turned to find Sayuri's body, shot in half below her bust with only one arm intact. The remains of her naked body blackened, before being illuminated with an eerie glow as a portal opened underneath her corpse. The remains drained into the portal just as Naruto reached out to grab her by the hand.

With her body gone without a trace, Naruto clenched his fist angrily. "Then I'll just have to find a way to cancel that deal for you!"

…

[Konohagakure no Sato]

It was a fair day as far as Tsunade was concerned. There weren't a lot of problems as far as the village was concerned. That, and quite a few of her patients were doing very well, with a significant decrease in recovery time. Overall, this meant less paperwork for her and more time drinking and finishing the most recent video she received of Guardians racing on their infamous 'land-speeders.'

The only hamper to her good day was the ill omen where the picture of herself and Sakura crack over her protégée. Sakura was on a mission to a quarantined southern backwater to cure a plague breaking out there; it was a difficult assignment, but it would truly test how well she took to her medical training. She was proud to have received a pigeon from her today reporting that the mission was a success and that she'd be back in a couple of days. Relieved as Tsunade was at the news, she felt she couldn't even enjoy the race unless she sent the girl backup…which had yet to make any news of meeting her.

As she settled down trying to enjoy the race, Tsunade heard a mechanical whine in the distance. Her trained ears told her that a Guardian land-speeder was approaching, and it was coming towards the village way faster than normal. She looked out the window to see a bright white serpent coming closer from the south, where Sakura was on her mission. The alarms were sounded, calling every shinobi in the village together in anticipation for an attack.

"Tsunade-sama! A Guardian is approaching from the south!" announced Shizune, barging into her office.

Tsunade huffed in exasperation as she put down her cup of sake. "Get every shinobi you can to reinforce the South Gate, try to stall them at least. In the meantime, get everyone you can to meet me at the Ninja Academy. We need to at least find out what they want."

Shizune bowed her head, leaving with a terse "Hai, Tsunade-sama!"

If the assault on Kirigakure were any indication, just three Guardians were enough to storm a hidden village and kill more than half the shinobi stationed there without causing any civilian casualties. Reports from ANBU and ROOT operatives had witnessed single Guardians taking down entire bandit armies on their own, and coming out of those conflicts alive. With any luck, a more experienced Kage, and better-organized shinobi would bolster their chances of subduing a Guardian for interrogation.

As she walked towards the front of the Ninja Academy, the orders being fired off frantically in all directions told Tsunade that the Guardian had already breached the South Gates. The sound of the land-speeder getting closer told her that her instincts were right on the money; they were here to see her.

Tsunade came to a stop just outside the Hokage Tower, waiting for the inevitable. The remainder of the Konoha Twelve had arrived to help form her Guard Detail, while shinobi of every rank had come in droves to intercept the Guardian. Shortly after that, the land-speeder darted into view, banking at the last moment to stop in front of her. The Guardian astride wore an orange tabard with golden scrollwork, embroidered on sheets of strong-looking cloth and tied down with a leather belt. The helmet he wore was sleek and rounded, as were the plates of armor that protected his vitals and joints. Orange lines glowed in the dark, contrasting against darkened metal plates and a rubbery undersuit. However, she also noted the Konoha hitai-ate dangling from his belt and a very familiar gemstone hanging from his neck; dead ringers as to who this Guardian was, even before his helmet vanished in a flash, revealing his face for everyone to see.

Seated in front of him was the very person Tsunade was worried about: Sakura was injured and unconscious. Once Naruto dismounted the land-speeder, he gently pulled Sakura out of the vehicle and hefted the pinkette in a bridal carry. As he walked closer, allowing his ride to flash out of existence, she noted that there was evidence of blunt-force trauma all over her body. There were also holes in her gloves and sandals that implied that she was stabbed in those areas, but the wounds were healed over.

With every step Naruto took, the swarm of shinobi and kunoichi slowly closed in, ready to arrest him on her order. The Konoha Twelve were poised to strike if things went south, though Tsunade noted that some of them were hesitant to do so. Whether it was more out of fear of his capabilities or their ties to him, she didn't know…but she _did_ know she could count on them to aid in Naruto's arrest.

As he came to a stop before her, Naruto offered Sakura's body to Tsunade. She quickly, but gently took her apprentice off his hands. "She was attacked by someone chasing me," he explained, "I did what I could to heal her, but prayers can only do so much."

"…and your attacker?"

"I dealt with her, but she'll be back."

The idea that anyone would be bold enough to attack a Guardian was a terrifying prospect to Tsunade. Given their worldwide reputation as one-man armies, it was unthinkable that anyone would do such a thing. The way Naruto had told it, this person was a legitimate threat. "We can protect you all," she offered, almost desperate not to lose him again, "just turn yourselves in and we can protect all of you."

"Just give up!" pleaded a voice in the crowd of shinobi. Tsunade saw that its owner was young Sarutobi Konohamaru. "I don't care that you're a criminal! I just want you back, Boss!"

"You have no idea how much I want to do that, if only to explain everything to you," Naruto countered sadly, reluctantly stepping away from her, "But even if we turn ourselves in, there's no way you could protect any of us from what's to come."

With every step he took back, Tsunade could only watch as his gaze turned to everyone gathered together. She could hear him whispering something to every group of shinobi he saw, as if chanting a quick mantra for them while he himself almost broke into tears. Whatever happened between Naruto and his assailant, she had no idea; just that he didn't trust in any of the Hidden Villages to keep him and his fellow Guardians safe.

Tsunade took tentative steps towards Naruto to stop him from leaving; to hug him and reassure him that all would be right again. Had his flying machine not swooped into the area, engulfing him in a flash of blue light before he was reverse-summoned into it.

Before anyone could respond, he flew away.

…

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **Kurogane: And we're done with the chapter. Man was this long…but I wonder, on a scale of 1-10, how would you readers rate Sayuri's yandere level?**_

 _ **UO: I say 12 and we apologize for being lazy on this. But Osprey productions and Gorem studios are swamped with other stuff.**_

 _ **NS: THERE. IT'S DONE. ENOUGH WITH THE GUILT TRIPS.**_

 _ **Kurogane: Anyway, the poll for the Dark Souls cross is still on, and will remain active until chapter 2. So do please vote.**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **None yet**_

 _ **…**_

 _ **Cameos/References:**_

 _ **The shape of the Arc Glaive**_ _ **—a jumoni-yari**_

 _ **Kazikli Bey—in execution, it's like Lancer of Black's Noble Phantasm. It means 'Impaler Prince'.**_


	18. The Game Has Changed

_**A/N: Sorry, no action here folks. Just a lot of talk…especially about the future. Still, we managed to give you this last-minute Christmas gift for you all. So, Happy Holidays to all you loyal readers. As usual, do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

[Konoha General Hospital, the morning after Naruto's arrival]

Tsunade walked out of the hospital ward to see Chūnin and Genin assembled in the waiting room before her. The remains of the Konoha Twelve sat with their respective sensei, along with Sai as a temporary member of Team Kurenai. Kakashi was still out on his mission, but a pigeon was sent to inform him of Sakura's condition—there was no doubt that he'd rush on back to check on her. Team Konohamaru were also there, being the youngest generation of shinobi in the room. She could see the concern on everybody's faces for Sakura's progress.

However, in addition to the worry in the air, Tsunade also noted the aura of abject hopelessness over the assembled shinobi. She could sympathize, what with how Naruto had outright stated that they couldn't protect him. There was a whispered conversation going on; likely so that they could at least take their minds off the subject of Sakura's injuries.

"How is she?" asked Ino, being the first to notice Tsunade's entry, turning all attention to the Hokage with concern.

"Sakura will be fine, but I sedated her a while ago to let her rest. Shizune's keeping an eye on her vitals now." She sighed. "Whatever Naruto did for her, he didn't completely heal her injuries, but it made my job easier. I found evidence of blunt force trauma all over her body, along with wounds on her hands and feet. It was like he used a mid-level healing jutsu to patch her up, so that a proper doctor could easily finish the job. I swear, if that was all he could do with a 'prayer', then I'll give up my doctor's license and join an abbey."

Ino heaved a relieved sigh. "Thank heavens."

"What I'm more concerned about however, is what Naruto said; that we can't protect him or the other Guardians from what's to come…like his attacker is beyond what we can handle," analyzed Neji, deep in thought, "The way he whispered something to everyone he saw, I'm not sure what to make of it. It was actually very disturbing, seeing him look at us sadly as if we were about to die. Makes me feel real bad for him and the others."

"A troublesome thought, but still very valid," Shikamaru agreed, "over the past few years, these Guardians or whatever they are, have done their best to outmaneuver and overpower us. For them to be scared of what they think is coming? That doesn't bode well."

Tsunade scratched her head before taking a deep breath. "You wanna know what's really disturbing? Sakura's yelling something several times before we put her under; and what's strange is that I _recognize_ those words."

"What'd she say?" asked Ino.

"She was reciting an excerpt from a poem my grandmother told me as a little girl," explained Tsunade, "it was a long time ago, and it was changed, but I still remember that they were the opening lines of the poem: 'Traveler, Traveler, oh so bright; guide her through the black of night.'"

"I know that poem," added Asuma, quickly smothering his cigarette as Tsunade turned her attention to him, "My dad told it to me once. Said he heard it from the Shodai. At the time, he found him whispering like he was praying."

' _Trust sensei to eavesdrop on grandpa during his 'prayer sessions.'_ Tsunade thought, heaving a sigh. "That poem is called 'Prayers to the Traveler' and it's tied to an old myth about…"

Tsunade's words trailed off, losing herself to her thoughts. ' _Now that think on it, there was something in the story that rings a bell._ _Something that Jiraiya would've told me about the Guardians and what the Toads had wanted from him—something about a new prophecy. Damn it! Last I heard, he went to investigate a spy going dark at the last minute.'_

"Tsunade-sama?" asked Tenten.

Tsunade started, suddenly remembering that she wasn't alone. She looked at the gathering of shinobi in the waiting room, and found them all looking at her with concern. "Sorry, lost in thought. What is it?"

"What was the myth about?" clarified the bun-haired girl.

"It's probably nothing; just thinking about it, that's all," answered the Hokage, "When I was a little girl, my grandparents told it to me in bed. It was a story about something that happened a long time ago…before even the Warring Clans Era. It's a legend so old and forgotten, that apart from a few surviving clans telling it to their children, not too many people know it anymore."

"You mind telling us how it goes?" asked Shikamaru, "If you were thinking _that_ hard on it, I'd have to say it relates to what Sakura said."

Tsunade stared at Shikamaru in disbelief, averting her eyes momentarily to pinch the bridge of her nose. _Well, at least the clients get their money's worth from him._ "Okay then, let's begin…"

The remainder of the Konoha Twelve gathered closer to hear the tale. Before she could begin, the doors to Sakura's ward slammed open, Shizune rushing into the room. "Tsunade-sama, Sakura is waking up!"

Tsunade grit her teeth, snarling and frothing at the mouth inside her mind. _Damn it! Just when I was about to start telling a story! I mean, really! Good timing, Shizune!_ She took a deep breath, letting out a calming sigh. "Well, let's check up on her and tell her the story while we're at it. I want to know who she heard that from."

Everyone walked into the hospital ward, noticing how quiet the room seemed as the bedridden Sakura massaged her forehead. Ignoring the bandaged hands, and the fact that she'd just recovered from a savage beating, she seemed fine. "Sakura?" asked Tsunade, "Sakura, can you hear me?"

"Wha…what happened?" she asked, groggily rubbing her head.

"Sakura!" cried Ino, rushing to her friend's side.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock. "Wh-what's going on?" she asked nervously.

"We were hoping you could tell us," answered Tsunade, "Naruto showed up last night, bringing you back home on his land-speeder."

"Naruto?! What happened?! Where is he—"

"He's gone," Kiba answered, "He left you here, then flew away…whatever happened between you, him, and his attacker must've been real bad."

A good half-hour was all Sakura needed to debrief everybody on what'd happened the night prior. How Naruto revealed that he was being chased, along with a fight with some kind of demoness. She recounted how the demoness injured her and then knocked her out, threatening to kill her if Naruto didn't show up. Then came the revelation that the attacker was actually Uchiha Sayuri, somehow mutated.

"…last thing I remember, before everything went dark, was Sayuri sucker-punching me," Sakura explained, "After that, I had a dream where Naruto was kneeling over me. I still remember his words, because he kept repeating them like a mantra; they were…"

"Traveler, Traveler, oh so bright; guide her through the black of night." Tsunade finished.

Sakura flinched, turning her attention to Tsunade. "Yeah…Shishou, how do you know that?"

"You were yelling it at the top of your lungs before we put you under. I still remember the whole poem it came from, and the story it's tied to." Tsunade answered. She took a deep breath, racking her mind for the entirety of the poem.

" _Traveler, Traveler, oh so bright,_

 _Guide them through the black of night._

 _To you the lost look in times of need,_

 _To free them from their pride and greed._

 _Traveler, Traveler, strong is your might,_

 _It is against the Darkness that we shall fight._

 _Your warriors protect the weak_

 _As your light guides the meek_

 _Traveler, traveler, forever nestled in the sky_

 _Let us live to meet eye to eye_

 _Your rays pierce through the darkest of nights_

 _And in the coming dawn, let us see the greatest paradise."_

Everyone in the hospital ward stunned to silence. "That sounds like a prayer," noted Kurenai, finding the will to speak. "You mentioned that there was a story connected to it?"

"Yeah," Tsunade answered, "Before I begin, there are different versions of the story. I don't know which part is true or the whole story, so I can only tell it the way grandma did."

Tsunade took a deep breath, composing herself as everyone in the ward stayed quiet. "Long ago, in a time before the discovery of chakra, some ancient humans encountered a mysterious floating object. It was said they felt safe, basking in its presence; like whatever sin they'd committed had been washed away and forgiven.

"Overtime, they started to worship this visitor from beyond the stars, this 'Traveler of Light,' as a god, and in turn it gifted these people with wisdom and power. Eventually, they would gain followers that they could share their wisdom with, while communing with their god. The village they founded was hidden from the rest of the world, shielded under the protection of the Traveler as they continued to worship it.

"The humans of 'Hikarigakure no Sato' prospered: science and technology progressed at a steadily growing pace; disease all but eliminated; lifespans were tripled. While peace reigned, the village was ready for war when necessary. To that end, Hikarigakure no Sato was protected by the Revenants of Light; warriors that could use the Traveler's power, many of whom were brought back from the dead."

"Wait a minute, brought back from the dead…?" asked an incredulous Kiba, "Are you shitting me?"

"That's what I was told," answered Tsunade, "and as I think on it, Naruto's resurrection kinda rang a bell. Now I know why. Can I continue?"

Kiba was about to say something when Shiina reached out an arm to silence her teammate. "I must apologize for Kiba-kun. Please continue, Tsunade-sama."

"Alright, where was I?" Tsunade asked to herself, "One day, a princess came from a different world. At first, she was welcomed warily by the people of Hikarigakure no Sato. Over time, she gained the trust of the village, eventually coming into direct contact with the Traveler. To repay the kindness shown to her, she gave the people news from beyond the stars…as well as the worlds she'd seen in her travels, prompting a desire to explore them.

"All was well under the Traveler's watch, to the point that the council of Hikarigakure felt it was time to share their gifts with the rest of the world. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, for it was learned that the Traveler had an enemy that pursued it for eternity. The Darkness came, fully intent on destroying the Traveler and striking down humanity.

"The people of Hikarigakure had long prepared for the Darkness's arrival, ready to retaliate. They fought back valiantly, but were ultimately defeated in the war. Even the Revenants, with all their power, could not stop the long night, nor the fall of Humanity that followed. In the end, the Traveler stood up to its old enemy alone and drove the Darkness back in one last push; but in its last stand, the Traveler used up much of its power. In the aftermath of the battle, it fell into a deep slumber, becoming lost to history.

"With their god thought dead, the remnants of Hikarigakure left their village in tears as they were scattered to the winds. To this day, it is said that the Traveler is still sleeping the years away, gathering its strength to one day reawaken and bring light back to the world."

The gathered ninja absorbed this information. Kiba broke the silence. "So…Naruto is one of these 'Revenants?' And Sayuri is a member of this Darkness?"

Tsunade looked at her younger apprentice. "It would seem that's the case. But regardless the orders are still the same: capture a Guardian regardless of loyalties."

"I don't think there's a point anymore," Shiina interrupted, her hand on her chin in thought, "if my calculations are correct, and the Guardians _are_ the Revenants, then the Traveler has already reawakened. If that's the case, then it's only logical to assume that the Darkness is not too far behind."

"Or is already back in town. Great, now I need to convince the council to call off the capture-on-sight order and somehow convince the other villages to do the same." Tsunade grumbled.

"Troublesome…either way we look at it, the game's already changed," Shikamaru added, "If the Traveler and the Darkness continue their war, we won't have to worry about capturing Guardians; they're probably gonna die in droves before we can question any of them. A more terrifying question is the aftermath of the war; when it's all said and done, what's the winner gonna do with us?"

From what they'd just been told, the Traveler sought to do good, to help mankind succeed and survive against the Darkness. The latter on the other hand, seemed intent to consume and destroy everything in its path. "I'm going to have to call up a Kage Summit about this," groaned Tsunade, "If a war _is_ on the horizon, we'd better get ready."

…

[Nami no Kuni Tower]

Naruto stood by at the finely-carved wooden table made specifically for Vanguard meetings, listening as each representative discussed several topics amongst each other…the biggest of which being his encounter with Sayuri. As he was the first Paladin-class Guardian in existence, he was of course given the seat as representative. Besides, this was an issue he'd brought up personally with the Vanguard; it was fitting that he be present. There was no doubt in his mind that there were a lot of Guardians tuning in to the proceedings; with news of the Darkness's return, who wouldn't?

Also in attendance was a leather-hooded Exo with glowing green eyes, stroking a 'beard' of small red chains dangling under his chin. Inlaid lapis lazuli carvings on his bare metal face gave the impression of tattoos, and his 'lips' were carved to resemble an angry scowl. All Guardians in the Shinobi Nations knew of Ivar-23, the Crucible Handler responsible for their training. As was customary of the Exo, the '23' at the end of his name meant his memories were wiped that many times. He was considered unusually belligerent for a Hunter, even by Titan standards. Still, he had the capacity for leadership, which was shown in his arranging Crucible matches in strategic locations to beef up security in those places.

As Nami no Kuni was directly harboring the Guardians, Tazuna was present. A while after the Nami no Kuni incident, he'd been offered the position of governor, agreeing to it until a proper replacement could be found. For as long as the Nami no Kuni Tower was active, he was the civilian representative for whenever there was a concern that involved his village.

The Bijū AI were also present in their holograms, watching the proceedings. The protection of the other Bijū and their Jinchūriki was a main priority, which was why they worked closely with Naruto's operation to hunt down the Akatsuki. Hearing that the Darkness was coming back was cause for them coming up from the Warmind Core and attend the meeting themselves.

"This is unprecedented! Unthinkable!" snapped a woman at the table, "To think that the Darkness would return this quickly!"

Her sturdy, wine-colored coat and the metal band around her upper-left arm marked her as a Warlock. She wore a pair of small-frame glasses, which emphasized her blood-red eyes. She wore her hair in a bowl cut that ended in a top-knot. A golden orange stripe across her eyeline added contrast to stark white skin and creamy hair. With her lithe frame and the intelligent glint in her eyes, it'd be hard to believe that Naia was a Suna shinobi due to her albinism. But she'd proven to be a capable fighter when pressed…apparently, she was a ninjutsu specialist in life, and was a deadshot with a crossbow.

When she wasn't mentoring and commanding Warlocks, Naia also headed the Research and Development Initiative, a guild of scientists and engineers from both Towers. As he was her apprentice, Naruto was admitted into the Initiative to help test new technologies for Guardian use. Her specialty was in researching the reality-warping technology of the Vex—which produced the class-changing 'Fate Refinery' that turned Naruto into a Paladin.

"We knew this day was coming," Ivar added. He was oddly calm, but one could pick up a subtle excitement in his broken voice. If the Future War Cult were still around, he would have fit right in with their doctrine. "I don't know if we're ready for the coming storm yet, but I suppose now's a good time to see. Yes, it sounds like a good war."

"This is serious, Ivar!" another man barked. He wore a suit of bulky crimson and gold armor over a dirty grey under-armor and the flag worn at his hip marked him as a Titan. Magnetized to his back was a large single-edged sword with a crystal socketed into the hilt. He was divest of his helmet, revealing a young, but war-torn Caucasian face, dark brown hair and blue eyes. He also wore a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. Regulus, the Titan representative, was considered a champion in the Crucible; unlike most Titans however, he mostly pursued knowledge. The fact that he could blend in with most of the villages helped him spy on the ninja before managing their own intelligence network. "If a war happened now, we would be facing down Akatsuki and six other sides. Not just the Darkness, but all five of the villages. If we don't get allies, we won't last a day."

"And how do we propose to do that?" Ivar countered, "Last I checked, all the major villages have a capture or kill-on-sight order for us."

"Not all of them, I suspect. I believe Naruto here might have caused Konoha to rethink that," Regulus told them, looking at the blond, "I believe we have some members of all of the nations in particular, Konoha. If we gradually reveal ourselves and prove we are allies, then maybe we can get them to listen to our pleas."

"So, how do we start doing that?" Naia asked.

"Simple. Naruto and Hinata still have memories of Konoha. I propose we have them talk to the Hokage, get some sense into her…"

"That's not all we have to worry about," interrupted a fifth individual at the table. It seemed to Naruto that the Vanguard had a thing for Exo Hunter Representatives, which was no surprise given their mechanical nature. The sleek, rounded curves and voice made this one a female model. Her face plate had a bone-white skull decal with a pink stripe going down her glowing blue eyes. A bluish-gray synthetic hood with a green stripe covered her upper-left shoulder and arm, while complementing a black waterproof undersuit, and dirty blue plates of light armor. Her gauntlets had miniature turbines mounted in them, and a diving knife was holstered at her right shoulder. The cuirass had an oxygen tank connected to a specialized neck guard, and her boots were suited for both running and swimming.

Iroha-2 was once a kunoichi from Kirigakure; as such, she'd had her frame modified to be lightweight, strong, waterproofed and overall ready for deep-sea diving. Rumor had it, she was the second-youngest Vanguard Rep in the Nami Tower after dying in Zabuza's failed coup. Apparently, her body had been so badly mangled by the mad Kage that her brain had to be scanned, uploaded, then installed on her current frame. Nowadays, she headed a special force of Guardians known as the Wind-Runners; their mission was wilderness recon, and (if the job called for it) assassination. The Runners were the reason that the purge against Akatsuki had been such a success.

"What do you mean?" asked Regulus.

"I've been investigating reports of Guardians going dark as of late," Iroha continued, her soprano tinged with fear and confusion. She raised her hand for silence. "We Guardians work independently of each other, but even independent agents know to report back regularly. These guys? We've heard absolutely nothing from them for about two months now."

"How'd you happen across this info?" asked Naruto, curious.

"Miyabi, one of my best Runners, disappeared somewhere in Iwagakure around the time this all started," explained Iroha, "Normally, I would've been receiving reports from her Ghost on a two-day basis, so I ordered the Runners to investigate. They never found her, but they _did_ find signs of a struggle and her dead Ghost."

The implications of this settled in everyone's minds. It was already bad enough that the Darkness had returned, and that Uchiha Sayuri was its agent. The idea that something was actively going after their Ghosts only made things worse. "After that came reports of more Guardians disappearing," Iroha continued, "At first, it was just a few isolated incidents; now we're losing Guardians by the month, and we don't even know why."

Naruto felt a sense of dread permeating the room…the feeling of his heart being ripped out that he'd come to associate with the Darkness. Everyone turned their attention the entrance to the meeting room, where a redhead was standing in the doorway. They could feel the Light being sucked into her. "Until fucking now."

"What is this, Tayuya?" Regulus asked, his hand reaching for the revolver at his hip. He wasn't the only one however, as everyone's hands twitched for the quick-draw.

"What the fuck do you think it looks like?" she spat back, her voice weaving in and out of flanging, "You can blame the Uchiha-bitch for this by the way."

Naia raised her hand, requesting for everyone to calm down, the scientist in her at full throttle as she began to question Tayuya. "What happened? And what do you know about these disappearances?"

Tayuya scoffed bitterly. "I know plenty."

The Vanguard listened as Tayuya recounted her tale, beginning with her encounter with Sayuri. When she got to the part where she blindly attacked a Guardian and killed her Ghost, Naruto noted that Iroha's hand was getting dangerously close to her semi-auto pistol. Truth be told, he wanted to summon his shotgun and join her when she spoke of her time reluctantly doing Sayuri's bidding. His anger reached its crescendo when he learned that she effectively sold him out, giving his position away to Sayuri while using the kidnap attempt on Gaara as bait. And yet, he could not blame her; not while she was still loyal, and not while she was being threatened throughout the whole ordeal.

When she finished, Naia spoke. "Thank you, Tayuya! Please leave so we may discuss your sentence."

Tayuya left the chambers with Koto hovering over her shoulder. The large, wooden doors shut behind her as the Vanguard turned to each other, silently looking at each other for a few seconds. "What? What's there to discuss?" Iroha-2 spat, kicking off the start of the discussions, "After all the Guardians we lost over the past few months because of her, you expect me and the Runners to turn a blind eye!?"

Naruto wasn't at all surprised at Iroha's outburst. From what he understood, the Wind-Runners had a sort of bond he'd mostly seen among tight-knit Shinobi teams: if an enemy shinobi messed with one of them, they messed with the whole team. _That, and Iroha was probably close enough with Miyabi to be that angry._

"As much as I hate to agree with Iroha, she's right; Tayuya needs to be quarantined," Regulus told them. Naruto knew his story; he was betrayed and murdered on a mission by Mizuki simply because he was injured. If there was one person he could relate to, it was him. "At least until we can cure her and the victims of this…curse."

"We also have to take her loyalty into consideration," Naia added, analyzing the situation, "It would be wrong to imprison her for something she did unwillingly."

"Loyal or not, she still cursed those Guardians," Ivar-23 reminded, "And because of that, we can't exactly let her off without so much as a slap on the wrist."

"Well what would you do?" Naruto snapped, "She'd been threatened to do this. What, you think she had a choice in the matter?"

Tazuna nodded. "I'm with the brat on this; if I were suffering as she was, I'd probably do anything to get rid of it. I'm not saying what she did was right or anything, I'm just saying we have to consider her circumstances. Besides, we've got enough on our plate without Guardians having to fight each other; we'll need whatever allies we can get."

"And how the hell do we know she won't turn on us?" countered Iroha, "How long until her curse gets so bad that she'll start going on a feeding frenzy? We let her live, and we might not be able to find out!"

"You're not seeing the big picture Iroha!" Naia shot back, "What does it matter if we punish her now? I know you're baying for blood because of Miyabi, but what's the point of executing her when there's other Guardians out there suffering the same curse?"

"What are you suggesting?" Tazuna asked.

"She's suggesting we show her some mercy," finished Kurama, "All things considered, she's still a perfectly good Guardian to have on our side. Besides, with her insights into the Darkness, we may have a better chance of living through the long night. She at least deserves a chance to redeem herself."

…

[Outside the Vanguard Chambers, an hour later]

It had been a quiet hour as Tayuya sat outside the Vanguard Chambers with Koto floating over her shoulder, while the Vanguard themselves discussed her fate. She could feel the Titans stationed outside the door glaring at her from under their sleek, featureless helmets. Their trigger fingers subtly twitched on their shotguns.

"They seem friendly," Koto snarked, "No doubt they're ready to empty out those shotguns on you, then finish me off."

"The fuck did you expect?" Tayuya asked in exasperation, "They're probably just itchin' for an excuse to shoot the shit out of us."

"For what it's worth, you did the right thing," Koto reminded, "With the intel you've provided, the other Guardians will have a fighting chance."

Tayuya scoffed, grabbing her trembling hand. "Well that's not exactly a consolation prize, now is it?"

Koto stared at her in concern. "More Light?"

"Damn right!" she snapped. Tayuya felt the comforting warmth of the Light filling her body as the tremors died down.

The silence was broken when the doors to the Vanguard Chamber opened. Naia walked out, beckoning Tayuya to enter. As soon as she stepped back in, she noted the mixture of feelings in the room. Iroha-2 and Ivar-23 were glaring daggers at her, undoubtedly because of what she did; Regulus was none too pleased either, but he was more understanding; Naia, Naruto, the Bijū, and Tazuna on the other hand were understandably wary of her.

"After careful consideration, we've decided to let you off the hook," Naruto stated, his words causing at least half of the Vanguard to flinch.

Tayuya's reaction to the news was of abject shock; she'd expected to be killed for what she did. Never in her wildest dreams did she think she'd be shown this much mercy. "I don't know what the fuck to say…" she croaked.

"What you want to do after this is up to you," Naruto continued, "However, you'll be under constant watch, and we _are_ gonna put you down if we hear of you attacking someone else."

"I fucked up," Tayuya admitted, "God willing, I still see all the shit I did in my dreams, and it makes me fucking sick. I mean, it's a fucking relief and all that you're doing this for me, but what's gonna happen now?"

"Well, you could come with me to my division in the R&D Initiative," suggested Naia, "I'm thinking of synthesizing a cure, and thought you might like to come and help."

"You sure you're good for this?" Kurama asked her, "Aren't you afraid your research is gonna go out of control without you?"

Naia scoffed, her voice taking on a scandalized tone. "Who do you think we are, Clovis Bray? The R&D Initiative isn't going to let another SIVA Crisis happen on our watch." She sighed, before turning her attention back to Tayuya. "In the end, it's your choice; if you want to go out hunting down people that have been cursed, that's fine too. But if you want my honest opinion, helping us over in R&D might do us all a lot of good."

Tayuya was silent for five seconds as she took in her options. On the one hand, joining in the hunt for the cursed people was a good start, but there was a chance she'd encounter Guardians that weren't exactly forgiving. On the other, helping out in R&D seemed to be a more secure proposition; assuming one of Naia's projects didn't fail horribly and erase her from time and reality. _Either way, it helps me get back at that bitch._ "Ah, fuck it. I'll help out at R &D if that's fine with you."

"Well now that that's out of the way, asked Regulus, turning everyone's attention to Naruto. "This is your operation Naruto, what're we gonna do now?"

Naruto silently contemplated their next moves. They had a long list of of things to do, and signs of the Darkness' return cut down on whatever time they had to prepare.

…

[Unknown Location, several hours later]

Warm…she felt warm. Sayuri realized she lived again when she felt herself suspended in an oily black liquid. Swimming to the surface with weakened limbs, she recalled the memories of her death. The loud whine of the large gun spinning up, the smell of hot metal streaking in the air, the sight of trees bursting into splinters all around her. This was all nothing compared to the pain of exploding bullets practically sawing her in half.

Sayuri reached out through the surface of the liquid, finding the rim of the container. With a good amount of effort, she hauled herself out and fell to the floor, naked and covered in black liquid. She coughed, then snarled as her arms and legs struggled to regain strength, before turning her attention to the container.

It was a large, cylindrical tank, suspended over a green fire by supports dug deep into the ground. The tank itself had an organic appearance to it, being made of pale chitin with glowing Hive runes carved onto its surface. Flanking it on both sides were stairs that led to a podium overlooking the gaping mouth of the tank.

In spite of her frustration, there was a sense of pride in Sayuri as she reveled in the success of her first creation as a follower of the Darkness. The Bone Cauldron was given the ability to accelerate the resurrection process, so that she would not have to wait for as long as Hive Prince Crota did. However, the cauldron also served other purposes, primary of which being that it was a medium for her more powerful Hive spells.

"He wasn't wrong," deadpanned a voice from behind, "It was a mistake, and we both know it."

Huffing in both amusement and exasperation, Sayuri propped herself up to face the speaker. The figure that lounged around in the chamber was her own mirror-image, down to her proportions. However, she radiated Light from the hood and light armor of a Hunter as she flipped a large knife in the air and caught it. She wore a disappointed expression as she stared angrily at Sayuri from a pillar. "So, playing my conscience are you?" Sayuri mocked, finding the strength to stand up and glare back, "Makes me wonder if binding the last of my Light and my soul to the Cauldron _was_ a mistake."

"Definitely for you, but that deal with the Darkness was an even worse blunder," the 'conscience' shot back, walking towards her while twirling her knife by the finger loops, "All that death and corruption, for what exactly? A chance to make Naruto love us?"

"And what would you have done?" Sayuri countered, as her doppelganger stopped twirling her knife before sheathing it at the small of her back. "You were too weak and afraid of Naruto hating us to stop me from making that mistake. I just made the decision you were too cowardly to make; in the end, you're no better than I am."

'Sayuki' came to a stop in front of her, her livelier onyx eyes contrasted with Sayuri's. They were so beautiful that she just wanted to pluck them out. "I never expected his love _or_ his forgiveness, It's just that after hearing the possibility of his resurrection, I was willing to do whatever it took to redeem myself. You on the other hand, were stupid enough to take that deal; what, you expect the Darkness to let you collect on your end of the bargain? With no strings attached?"

"Every deal has strings; the only question is, what strings are you willing to be tied down by?" asked Sayuri, her voice taking on a harsher tone while circling her 'conscience' with a hand on her shoulder, "Me? As long as I get to be with Naruto-kun, you can tie me up with whatever strikes your fancy. But what about you? What strings are _you_ willing to get tied up in?"

"I have no strings except my desire for redemption," answered the doppelganger, "If at the end of everything, Naruto sees fit to forgive and love us, I would count it as a miracle. But you? You want something we _cannot_ have. You won't stop consuming everything in your path until he's in your arms again; and somehow, I doubt you'd even stop there."

Sayuri came to a stop behind 'Sayuki,' draping her arms around her; her voice a seductive, but mocking whisper against the doppelganger's ear. "Oh? And what are you going to do about it, Miss Goody-Two-Shoes?"

There was no change in Sayuki's expression, much to Sayuri's disappointment. _Come on now_ , she thought, _At least show me some anger!_ "Nothing today," she admitted, starting to fade away, "But don't get too comfortable; this won't be the last you'll see of me."

As Sayuki dissolved into nothingness, Sayuri snorted. "That'll be the day."

…

 _ **A/N: Again, I apologize for the talky chapter. I guarantee you there will be action in the next chapter…though whether this entails softcore or hardcore action will be up in the air.**_

 _ **In any case, I thank UnitedOsprey1991 and NorthSouthGorem for helping me. Regulus was the former's character, and the latter beta-read the chapter.**_

 _ **Please review, would you kindly? And please, have a classy Holidays.**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **Sayuki—Sayuri's 'conscience' is pretty much named 'little snow'.**_


	19. Before the Storm

[Somewhere in Kaze no Kuni]

Tayuya trudged through the vast deserts of Kaze no Kuni, Naia leading the way. She just didn't understand why the R&D Initiative had to have their labs in places this far from society.

Given that this was Vex technology that they were studying at this particular lab, there was good reason for this. From what Tayuya understood, the Vex were machines that could travel through time. Their technology was said to be so advanced that their weapons could pull lasers from the past, present and future before focusing them all into one beam. One person remarked that they were 'an evil so dark it despised all other evils.'

Still, dangerous as it was, their technology was millennia ahead, which was why Naia's branch of the R&D Initiative studied their shit. Tayuya had even heard word of an ancient weapon they'd designed to simply 'erase' someone from existence just by deciding that they weren't real. _Good thing the schematic to that shit's lost to time; I'd hate to die just because I was told I wasn't real!_

"How far are we from your nerd-base?" snapped Tayuya, temper flared from trudging through hot desert sands.

"Not far now," answered Naia, "Just be careful not to touch anything down there. Every sample we have of Vex technology may be inactive now, but anything could activate them. If that happens, we'll have to deal with yet another SIVA Crisis."

She'd heard of the SIVA Crisis, where fucking small and experimental machines went out of control, empowering a batshit cult of Fallen from the House of Devils and making them even crazier. Tayuya heard what happened to the Iron Lords; how their bodies were defiled beyond recognition. For that, she was glad that the R&D Initiative took extra (paranoid, even) safety precautions on all breakthroughs, to ensure such a thing never happened again.

"We're here," Naia cheered, indicating a cave in a cliff face, "The Vex Research Division's inside that cave."

The two of them walked through the rocky interior of the cave, ignoring the sounds of water dripping in the distance. Naia led Tayuya to a large, round, metallic door with all sorts of mechanisms and locks in place. At the base of the door was a smaller door. Overall, it gave her the impression of a bank vault.

"Mind telling me why couldn't we land the jumpships here?" asked Tayuya with no small amount of annoyance.

"Jumpships can be tracked anywhere if you have good enough eyes," explained Naia, coming to a stop in front of the smaller door. Her own Ghost materialized, its eye firing a bright blue laser into a panel. "And besides, a landing pad could potentially compromise our quarantine protocols. You can _never_ be too careful when you're handling Vex tech…"

Once the Ghost was done with the scan, it vanished as the door slid open, letting them through a catwalk. As she looked at the inner-workings of the main door, Tayuya noted that everything was both big and heavy. Gigantic gears, large force field generators, as well as hidden gun emplacements built into both sides of the door. _This place's a mini-fortress!_

The two of them reached the other sliding door. Tayuya froze in surprise as she saw scientists and engineers of all races running around, doing their work. "Welcome to the Vex Research Division," Naia announced proudly, "Codenamed the 'Infinity Vault.'"

Everywhere she looked, there were scientists working on hardlight computer screens. Some had images of Vex Goblin platforms, others were studying the contents of the ancient 'Vault of Glass.' "What kinda shit're you guys playing around with down here?"

"Mostly the basics," explained Naia, indicating a group of scientists working to reverse-engineer what looked like a Vex gun, "Most of it involving the appropriation of Vex weaponry for Guardian use. In addition, we're pretty much competing with the Lightning House to see who can make the better jump drive for our jumpships."

"Lightning House?"

"Yeah, the Eliksni Research Division," Naia continued, "They're doing the same thing as us and the other divisions, except with Fallen tech. I'll be honest with you, I thought that kind of tech was dubious, but turned out to be pretty hardy and more easily usable."

"Where're the others?" Tayuya asked, sincerely curious.

"For general research, we report to our respective towers," answered Naia, passing by a few glimmer forges, working on fabricating Vex guns, "But if you're looking for specialists like me, the only ones that know the exact answer to that would be the head of each division. The Lightning House is hidden in an island somewhere between the Nami Tower and the Ocean Tower. The War Factory is in Tsuchi no Kuni, they specialize in the Cabal tech that Naruto field-tested in his close encounter. And last but not least, in Kaminari no Kuni we have the Black Coven, trying to understand the Hive's black magic and biotech."

Tayuya was curious as to how far each of them had gone in their research and what new toys they were developing. Then there was also the matter of what it was that every division looking into. "And here we are at my lab."

For a moment, Tayuya paused mid-step, her jaw hanging from the appearance of the room before her. The entire area was made up of bronze cuboids, like some ancient temple. Within the hall of bronze, she noted several samples of Vex technology suspended in pillars of bluish light. Each sample was destroyed in one way or another; some with ancient bullet holes, and others with traces of Light ability usage seen. "I'd rather not touch those," Naia cautioned, directing Tayuya's gaze to a severed hand, about to touch the head of a Vex, "Best way to study Vex tech safely is to keep all samples in a high-powered stasis lock. Your hand gets in any of those pillars, and it'll take weeks at best to get you free."

Nervously taking her eyes off the sample with the hand, Tayuya turned her attention back to Naia. "So what kinda shit you got that can help me?"

"Our first priority is to buy some time," Naia explained, "We're gonna need a substance that can act as a substitute for Light…meaning you won't have to attack anyone for it. Plus I'm pretty sure it'll be easier on your Ghost."

"You're telling me," muttered Koto.

"What's gonna happen now?" Tayuya asked.

"Well, that depends on what you're talking about," Naia replied, sitting on a desk to face Tayuya, "If you're talking about here in this lab? We're gonna synthesize that Light substitute, and have you test it out. If it works, then we get started on a more permanent solution…which I believe we already have the groundwork for."

She nodded to indicate the glass tank behind her. Tayuya had heard word about it, as well as the fact that it was the reason Naruto was a Paladin. Few Guardians were crazy enough to try out the Fate Refinery. Some had successfully changed their class with their minds intact, others were never heard from again, either mercy-killed or erased from reality. Various revisions and upgrades overtime saw to it that the chances of success had increased.

"I had one sent over here," said Naia, answering Tayuya's unasked question, "There are already quite a few risks we've had to deal with when the Fate Refinery was built. Among which included the fact that there was a chance that people could come out of it totally insane, as well as being erased from reality. The concept behind the machine is still sound: we're pretty much using a time-machine to rewrite history and change a Guardian's class. However, what we want to do in _this_ case is to rewrite a _disease_ out of someone's history. We already have a head-start; the machine's a lot safer thanks to kill-switches added to later revisions."

There were a lot of benefits to the idea; all one had to do was go to this chamber, and they could be free of a terminal illness…or in this case, a curse. And assuming something went horribly wrong, the best they could expect was being erased from history before they infected anyone else. On the other hand, the whole thing seemed a tad controversial in Tayuya's eyes—all this toying around with reality involved, how soon until things went irrevocably wrong? Who said they had the right to play god?

Still, in her eyes, the potential boons of the venture seemed too important to ignore. _With any luck, we'll even be able to fix whatever shit that exhibitionist slut did to everyone—herself included. Talk about high risk, high reward._

"What about the other Guardians?"

"Oh, that? Iroha's coordinating with the Runners to hunt down and contain these 'Blackguards' running around and infecting people; preferably alive, so that they'll be quarantined and put under stasis lock," Naia explained, "On the other hand, Regulus will be _very_ busy for a while…"

…

[Elsewhere]

Heavy bass music thrummed in the air of the dance club as two DJ's worked their magic on the filled mosh pit.

Crazy Punk were a duo of musicians that had recently appeared on the music scene. Nobody knew who they were, barring the fact that they wore high-tech helmets that concealed their identities. Tam Bangata's silvery helmet had a big, blocky visor with a horizontal slit where his mouth would be; between the two of them, he was also taller. Ki-Man's brass helmet had a big, black, featureless cover that swept over his face from his upper lip.

The gig they were on brought a lot of underworld players out of the woodwork and…

"We're getting an encoded transmission from Regulus," said a voice in Tan's head, belonging to his Ghost, De, "For our ears only. It's important."

"Same here," Rez added in Ki's head, "Want us to play it?"

To keep from breaking their cover, Tam and Ki-Man mentally spoke in binary to their Ghosts and each other. As they continued to play their music, their mental answer was quickly translated as 'yes.' "We're patching you through now."

"Tam, Ki-Man, you two reading me?" asked Regulus through the transmitter.

"Loud and clear," answered Bangata in binary.

"Same," added Ki-Man, also in binary.

"Can't you two just speak normally? Your helmets are shielded for private communications for crying out loud!" Regulus asked in exasperation, before taking a calming breath, "Look, things have changed. We need you two to wrap up any unfinished business you have and wrap 'em up fast. The Nightfall Protocol is in effect; we can't afford to have any loose ends. So finish up whatever you need to do without civilian casualties, and get back to the Nami Tower for further instructions. Understood?"

Their answer was a resolute 'yes sir' in binary before signing off.

"You ready to do this?" asked Ki-Man in his own voice, his attention on the targets while still playing music.

Bangata snorted, continuing to operate his side of the DJ table. "When you are."

The two of them marked their targets, drew their Sidearms, and opened fire…

…

[Hokage Tower, roughly a week later]

The news kept flooding into Tsunade's office about Guardian attacks on the criminal underworld. Three guardians walked into a bar in Kaze no Kuni and slaughtered the local bandit gangs in a massive bar fight. A terrorist cell in Tsuchi no Kuni was revealed by an anonymous party and then mercilessly wiped out, down to their heavily-indoctrinated children. And Tsunade's _personal_ favorite: Tam Bangata and Ki-Man of Crazy Punk had ruthlessly executed six extremely powerful yakuza bosses and their respective retinues while touring in Kaminari no Kuni.

It wasn't the fact that Guardians were doing these acts of vigilantism that bothered Tsunade; quite frankly, she found that they did the world a favor with their attacks. Rather, it was how utterly _brazen_ these attacks were that frightened her. It was as if the Guardians wanted to clean house really fast, ignoring the fact that they were supposed to be incognito. _Then again, if I found out_ my _ancient enemy has returned, I'd step up all deadlines too._

Tsunade rubbed her temples in exasperation. Sayuri's resurrection and subsequent mutation had really made a mess of things; before, the Guardians seemed content to pretty much humiliate the shinobi. Now, with the threat of the Darkness returning, this went way beyond petty thunder-stealing; this was a full-on crisis. With a massive shitstorm on the horizon, they needed help more than ever, which meant a Kage Summit in the near future. Partly to call for the cancellation of all attempts to capture a Guardian, but also to make preparations for the war to come…and one that could consume the entire world.

"Bad day, huh?" asked a voice that Tsunade knew well.

"No thanks to this mess in the world," she huffed, turning her attention to the windowsill, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you, Nawaki?"

Perched on the windowsill with his hood pulled down was Nawaki, looking back at his sister with a sad half-smile on his face. "That's exactly what I've come to talk to you about, since Naruto's too busy making preparations."

"Those 'preparations' have anything to do with the sudden return of The Darkness?"

"You catch on quick," Nawaki noted, expressing a desire for better news, "I guess I'm not mad right now, since it _was_ inevitable. To be honest, we all thought we had plenty of time to get things sorted."

"Why do all these things?" asked Tsunade, desperate for answers, "If you knew the Darkness was going to come back eventually, why didn't you tell anybody about it? Why the secrecy?"

"We didn't know if the Hidden Villages could be trusted with our mission," answered Nawaki, tossing a knife in the air, "Our job was to get the world ready for the Traveler's return _and_ to get everyone ready for the war to come. That hasn't changed, but we had to up our time tables to try and finish as much as possible before the Darkness hits us at full force."

"So what're you doing here?"

"I'm mostly here to let you know that we've some errands to run here in the village…and that we have Guardians infiltrating their home villages to beef up security. With Sayuri raising all sorts of hell around the world, you're gonna _need_ the backup."

"If the Darkness is as bad as I think it is, we probably _will_ need it more than ever," Tsunade admitted, "Though I've got to ask; what's Naruto going to do for Terumī Mei's protection detail in the Kage Summit at Tetsu no Kuni?"

Nawaki shrugged. "I honestly don't know what's going on with that, but rumor has it that the arrangement for that's already been taken care of. I heard that the Ōkami no Kishi have volunteered for the job."

The look of confusion was clear on Tsunade's face. "Who're they?"

"They're among the first to have risen since the Traveler's return," explained Nawaki, "By our standards, they'd be roughly the Guardian equivalent of Sannin-level shinobi, if not Kage-level. They're also native-born Tetsu Guardians, which makes any possible escape plan much easier."

Tsunade sighed. "Well, at least we can look forward to stronger security measures at Tetsu. In our own villages? Maybe not so much if your people can sneak into their villages as they please."

"We've already been infiltrating the villages quite often in the past," Nawaki stated matter-of-factly, "Even though we normally do this to raise Guardians from the grave, there are those of us who have shown promise with the Light while still alive. They've been hiding amongst the populace since the Traveler reawakened, protecting their homes in the shadows. They won't come out into the open unless the village is in serious danger; so trust me when I say, we'll do everything we can to defend our homes."

The look in Nawaki's eyes was sincere. Tsunade knew that this was the same boy she'd loved, and yet in a way, he'd grown up despite all appearances. "And what're you going to do?"

"I've my own missions to run," he answered, holstering his knife, "We're tying up as many loose ends as we can, as fast as we can before the Darkness _really_ gets serious. We may not have been able to share anything with regular Shinobi yet, but hopefully that'll change in the future. Though I've gotta say, you're taking the whole me being back from the dead thing awfully well."

"I had Danzo send me intel on all Guardian activities his ROOT cell managed to witness," Tsunade admitted with a sigh, standing up, "The first time I saw you in action, it was your training exercise with glowing balls…and Dan was there too. I'll be honest, I didn't know what to think, but at the end of the day, I guess I was confused about why none of you came back."

"Nee-chan, I don't know what to…"

There were no more words. Tsunade had closed the distance between them, scooping up Nawaki in a loving embrace, allowing her tears to flow. "But right now, I'm just glad you're back."

Nawaki was silent, trying to reach his hands around to hug her back. "I missed you too, nee-chan," he finally managed to say, before breaking out of the embrace, "Don't worry, we may be laying low, but we're not going anywhere. When the time comes, we'll step up and defend our homes, and the people we love."

Before she could ask anything else, Nawaki turned around to dive outside the window. Tsunade watched as he vanished in midair, disappearing into the populace.

…

[Unknown Location]

The Ascendant Realm was a Hive God's domain, their personal escape from whatever reality they found themselves in…even from the realm of death. So long as they were not slain here, they could always resurrect, coming back to their foes all the wiser. For Sayuri, this alternate reality took the form of a castle surrounded on all sides by a dark forest, where her Ascended lurked. The wildlands choked out whatever moonlight shone upon the world as legions were raised by Knights in her honor, while Wizards concocted spells for her glory.

In this world she dubbed 'Eternal Witchcraft,' Sayuri was the goddess. All that served her, willingly or otherwise, gave her a tithe of Light from whomever they killed. In order to be welcomed in this place, one had to either feed her more than enough Light, or gain her favor by exemplary performance.

Her attention focused on the murky black liquid of the Bone Cauldron, a large text in her hands filled with Hive Necromancy. The desire to find Naruto burned in her mind; the curiosity drove her mad, wondering what plans he'd set in motion…as well as to the limits of her magic. She knew her Sharingan still worked, as she'd memorized his spear and sword techniques in vivid detail; knowledge that would aid her significantly in capturing him alive. Knowing that she'd killed him had awakened it as a Mangekyō, allowing her access to more spells and jutsu.

So many things she wanted to understand, but most of all, she wanted to see if her spell would work. She chanted her incantation in the Hive's tongue, testing the limits of the black magic. Theoretically, it would allow her to see far beyond the range of her vision ability without being sensed at all; however, this required her 'dark soul' to be separated from her body. After trying out the spell several times, she found herself in various places, before concluding that she needed to have a destination in mind. It was likely close to how Guardian Thanatonauts did their work…except that she'd realized fairly quickly that she was looking at things in the present.

At the moment however, her thoughts were focused on Naruto's current location, mostly to see how powerful her Scrying spell was. Most of the time she'd spent out of her body was cut short due to some new development that demanded her attention; she never figured out how much time she had for a good look. And also to see what he was up to at the moment, potentially taking glimpses of future projects while getting herself a good look under his armor.

As the spell took hold, Sayuri felt her core temperature sinking as her dark soul peeled away from her body. Pain filled her senses as her 'corpse' crumpled to the floor, making her scream as she 'died' again. The trip was but a brief flash of light filling her vision, before gradually clearing away to reveal her location.

Pure white gave way to steel grays and off-white concrete. She could see the blue of the midday sky, illuminated by the golden sun. While Sayuri had no access to her sense of touch and taste in her 'shadow form,' she still had her other senses; as such, she could smell an undercurrent of salt, and hear the sea splash. People walked by her view as they tried to go about their daily lives, but she could tell that there was a sort of rush going on—some people were hurrying to get things done. It made her mouth water knowing that she'd found herself in an area practically surging with Light, as she saw Guardians everywhere, making up the majority of the rushers.

 _It's not the main Tower, but it looks like I found their headquarters,_ she thought to herself. Sayuri walked around on the platform, exploring everything she could…but her eyes were still on the prize. Some people were busy fixing things, others were having a look at the wonderful view of the city on the island. Fortunately, nobody noticed her at all, even when she screamed in their faces; not even that burly green man with the strange speech could see her. She could hear his grumbling very clearly as he worked away at a new firearm.

"Where th' bloody 'ell is dat lil' git?" he suddenly asked himself, unknowingly catching Sayuri's attention, "Been a while since I saw him tryin' out any o' me new shootas."

"Haven't you heard, Tork?" asked a patron in response, "The Darkness's back, so of course Naruto would be a bit too busy to spend time with you."

Tork turned his attention to the patron, looking at him curiously. "Izzat right? Den he's got 'imself a real 'ard time. Shame though, I really wanted him to try out me new work; I tweaked it from Cabal tech, so I'm sure he's gonna find me adjustments an improvement."

As Tork and his customer bantered on, Sayuri noted a familiar face walking by with long strides. Her inky hair had grown out beautifully since she'd last seen her, but there was no mistaking that the Titan storming off was Hyūga Hinata. She smiled to herself as she came to a conclusion: Hinata knew where Naruto was.

Hinata's steps took her deep into the tower, pressing a button next to a set of large, metal doors, pausing to wait. She followed her throughout the tower, taking in the sights as the two of them effectively toured the hidden base. A look outside the window showed that there was a bridge connecting the island to the mainland; and a massive wall was being constructed around the village. Sayuri allowed a nostalgic smile to crease her face, recognizing it to be the bridge that she, Naruto, and Sakura fought at on their first mission, giving her a location to the base proper. _Now you cannot hide from me._

After a few minutes of waiting, the doors before them opened up, revealing two more Guardians, much to Hinata's shock. Both of whom were Hunters, judging by the hoods they wore. The Hunter on the right, leaning against a set of rails was wearing a leather hood stitched up at the shoulders. Her skin was a flawless white, like snow, contrasted with ebon hair worn behind her head in a bun, and brown eyes. The other Hunter was a strange, green-haired girl with orange eyes and dark skin wearing a tweed hood.

"Going down?" asked the fake Hunter-Nin, holding the doors open for Hinata, who nodded in affirmation.

"I'm guessing for the same reason as us," added Tweedy.

"Naruto-kun's not been seen out of his quarters for a while now," explained Hinata, "I've heard word he hasn't been sleeping, and he hasn't been seen at his favorite ramen stand. I'm worried about him."

"You're not the only one," agreed Tweedy, "Well, come on in."

Sayuri followed Hinata into the small chamber, watching as Tweedy pressed a button on the wall behind them. A mechanical whir filled the air as the four of them waited, the doors behind them opening to reveal a vast expanse of metal architecture. Dominating the view was a large table with various objects on the surface, including more than a few glowing images hovering above it.

As the four of them traversed through the halls of the floor, Sayuri noted something interesting propped up against a wall. It was a massive, double-bitted axe suspended in midair over a flaming brazier. The top was squared off, and the beard had a deep heel; the guard and pommel were flanged like a mace to balance out the axe. Its haft was long enough to make the weapon man-sized, with a leather wrap in the middle. Wrapped around the base of the axe's head near the guard was a length of chain that was also draped over the top. Carved into the cheeks and eyes of the axe was a growing tree with leaves, the reliefs radiating the heat of the flames.

"The Iron Battle Axe, the signature weapon of Lord Saladin Forge," Sayuri mused to herself, admiring the quality of the weapon before scanning the rest of the area. "So Naruto-kun has become a collector of Guardian artifacts? Then perhaps I can interest him in a different subject…?"

"Naruto-kun?" Ice Princess called out, catching Sayuri's attention.

"Over here."

She hovered over to the Hunter, and in turn finding her target. Naruto was sitting around at a small corner, bare of his helmet with two new weapons on top of what appeared to be a workbench. The first looked to be a weapon was similar to Auto-Rifles, but was diminutive in size and likely capability. It loaded its ammunition in the stock, and was barely larger than the sidearms that the Reef prided themselves on.

The other weapon looked to be the lovechild between a shotgun, and a hand cannon. The bore of its barrel approached the size of a rocket launcher, and its cylinder was hexagonal in shape. Overall, a weapon specifically designed for troop support, and to be a more convenient way to bring artillery to the fight.

Guardians did not technically require sleep, but even Sayuri could tell that Naruto was mentally tired. His focus was off-kilter, and his movements were getting clumsier by the second. _Good thing my…better half isn't here with me; I'm pretty sure I'd feel guilty if she were._

"When was the last time you slept?" asked a worried Hinata, draping her arms around him comfortingly.

"A little while before my close encounter?" he asked, still fiddling with a large casing that was likely for the 'revolver shotgun.'

Tweedy sighed before placing a hand on the large round to stop his work. "You need to sleep now. If not for pleasure, then at least do it by regulations."

"Hard to do lately, Fū," admitted Naruto, looking at Tweedy with depression, "Before, what kept me going on was the dream of a good future. I was willing to live like a fugitive because of a dream where the Guardians and the Shinobi would work together in harmony, standing strong and united against the Darkness. I was going to stay hidden from my precious people until I brought this vision of the future to them, so that they could find peace with the Traveler too.

"Then things changed when I ran into Sayuri, all soaked in Darkness. Ever since she blindsided me, I've started to have nightmares of her dragging me into the abyss. Once she had me on the ground, she just kept biting, kissing, and screaming while I tried to get free. I suppose it was like being in Hell."

 _Heh, even at rest, there's no escape for you!_

"If that's the case, then we'll go to Hell with you," Ice Princess declared, pressing a button on the workbench to have it fold away and store itself under the floor. Not a single piece of the 'shotgun' fell off the top. "Many of us already owe you for giving us a second chance at life. At the very least, let us get started with repaying you."

Naruto looked at the three girls as they started to slowly surround him. "Repay me…? How do you plan to…"

{warning: lemons ahead}

Fū stood right behind him, reaching a hand out to dial in on a keypad in the air, causing the floor nearby to flip around to reveal a bed that was nailed to the floor. It was a large, metallic piece of furniture with a tall post at each corner. The intricate flower-pattern carvings hinted that its last owner was rich, especially with how the mattress was constructed for maximum comfort. The bed was easily large enough to support four adults with a reasonable amount of wiggle room to spare.

The look in each girl's eyes burned, which filled Sayuri with no small amount of rage and envy. Ice Princess pushed Naruto down onto the bed with one hand, her armor dissolving into tiny squares. The fake hunter-nin's nude body was lithe, as though she were born to be aerodynamic; she wasn't flat, but her breasts were still small…somewhere between an A and a B-cup. What she lacked in chest size however, she compensated for with a plump ass, softened up with a healthy amount of fat on long, healthy legs made for sprinting. It didn't hurt that said legs made it such that she could be sexy in anything she wore.

A tug on her clip released the bun behind her head, the midnight curtain of hair flowing behind her shoulders. Smooth, snowy skin stretched taut over her avian frame, contrasted with small pink nipples. There was no makeup on her face barring the sanguine lipstick and lilac eye shadow; she really didn't need much of it at all. Were she to be found in a raging blizzard in nothing but a kimono, she could pass herself off as a Yuki-onna of mythology.

As she straddled him on one side, Ice Princess moved closer to his ear, her voice barely above a whisper. "Hush now, I'll handle the rest."

Sayuri was torn between her desire to see what would happen next and directing her killing intent at this…this…this hussy for seducing her prey. Still, her curiosity won over raw hate at these girls trying to steal away Naruto; curiosity and a bit of lust, admittedly. She watched as Naruto shivered under Ice Princess's touch, clearly unsure of how to proceed with her offer. "Haku, I…I really think I should…"

"Yes, Naruto-kun…?" asked an assured Ice Princess.

He sat up quickly. "I think I should get myself cleaned up, so we can talk about this."

She laughed as he got up off the bed, quickly hopping onto a large ceramic square on the floor with a drain at the bottom. Four walls rose from the ground around Naruto not too far away from the bed. Sayuri listened as the sound of a shower turned on, beads of water splashing against skin as steam began to rise from the squared space for showering. The sound of armor vanishing had interrupted her train of thought, causing her to turn around to see both Fū and Hinata completely naked.

A look at the only Titan in the room had filled Sayuri with no small sliver of envy. At first, she'd thought that Hinata had stuffed that area under her breastplate, only to find that there was no space to stuff anything; her bust was actually _that_ big. As a matter of fact, when compared against Sayuri's own measurements, the Hyūga girl had more alluring curves that could turn a straight girl: an hourglass figure to match with her roughly E, maybe F-cup breasts and wide hips that fit with a body softened with a light layer of fat. She also had a reasonably-sized, but soft and juicy butt that jiggled with every step, complemented with slender arms and legs. Sayuri's only consolation was that Hinata didn't seem to have changed much in personality; brave as she was, she was still a little self-conscious of her own body. _Very cute, actually._

Fū on the other hand bordered on a C-cup, but her skin had an alluring tan that spoke of a life in the wilderness. She had shoulder-length green hair, and golden-orange eyes that looked about awkwardly, trying to avoid looking at Hinata's body. Sayuri could see that she was somewhere in the middle between Haku's measurements and Hinata's, closer to her own. However, a life in the wilderness had given her a slightly more athletic build to survive, favoring muscle slightly over fat. It gave her a confidence boost knowing that in terms of curvature, she was superior to both Haku and Fū.

Still, she wanted to have another look at her prey. Sayuri turned her attention to the 'shower,' phasing through metal, waterworks, and ceramic to watch Naruto taking his shower. The hot water continued to cover him, as he just stood there, leaning against the tiled wall before getting back to showering. She continued to ogle at his body from every angle; there was no hole in his chest, not even a scar for evidence that he'd been impaled on a large, sharp rock at the Valley of the End. In addition, his body was still as magnificent as she'd remembered it; it was as though the Light had restored him to the way he was before he died.

As Naruto pressed on a pump for soap, he began to scrub himself carefully, cleaning every inch of himself very thoroughly, much to the pleasure of Sayuri. Every turn he'd made allowed her to see his young muscles, his developing ass, everything. Sayuri wished she could reach out to grab him; to abduct him right in front of these hussies that were seducing him. Sadly, the limits of her spell were such that she couldn't touch him, much less kidnap him; all she could do was to reach her arms around his body and pretend as though she were physically groping and caressing him. " _You'll be mine soon enough,"_ she whispered into his ear, " _We'll be together, forever lost in the magnificence of the abyss."_

Naruto turned the shower off with a squeak, cutting off the flow of hot water before reaching out for a nearby towel. Sayuri watched as he towelled off his hair, his shower disappearing into the floor. She watched him step out, her heart pounding harder in her chest.

Sayuri gazed upon the bed, to see all three Guardian girls lying on the bed. Each one of them was in a very compromising position. Hinata and Fū flanked Haku on both sides, their arms draped across her flat chest as they straddled her; the latter shared a come-hither expression on her face with Haku. Hinata, however, was flustered by the whole thing, taking on an adorable shade of pink.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, stunned to silence.

"We're repaying you," Haku repeated, her hand raised to beckon him closer, "You've been working too hard as of late; it's time for you to rest."

"Please, come to bed with us, Naruto-kun," added Hinata, "We want to help."

Naruto remained frozen in place, unsure of how to proceed. Sayuri watched luridly as Fū and Hinata slowly rose from their positions, sauntering towards him before gently leading Naruto back to the bed. Haku moved aside as they sat him down on the mattress, laying him on his back.

Trying to sit up, Naruto managed a clipped "But…"

All other words were cut off as Haku closed the distance to silence Naruto with a kiss. His body froze, not from the kiss itself, but from how fast it happened. Blue eyes widened from shock as he tried to process what had just happened. "You really need this; we may not be able to help with the nightmares, but we'll do our best to help you sleep."

Hinata and Fū worked together to pull Naruto further up the bed by the shoulders. Haku settled in on top of him, arching her back as the two of them got into position. Fū guided his left hand to the junction between her legs, grinding her medium-sized breasts against his arm. Since Haku had resumed kissing Naruto full-on, Hinata settled for draping her arm across his chest as she nuzzled his neck.

There was nothing else for Sayuri to do; she laid back, watching on. While she was not able to touch anything in her vision, she could still touch herself. She grabbed her D-cup breast with one hand while the other hooked into her pussy. Sayuri moved her hands slowly, massaging herself in rhythm to the foursome in front of her. _May as well enjoy myself; it's not every day one happens across this._

Haku was the first to move, breaking off the kiss to sit astride Naruto's chest, reaching backward to grab onto his cock. As she did so, Hinata reached behind his head, pulling his lips into hers to continue kissing him, while the Ice Princess stroked his length to stiffness. It took a slow technique to get things started, but Sayuri was able to get a good look at Naruto's manhood, all ten inches, as it reddened. It twitched and throbbed in her soft, slender hand as she squeezed it, licking her lips and blushing herself. His prick stood proud and thick, patterned with blue veins and capped with a firm, curved tip.

Sayuri seethed at having such a beautiful thing in front of her, yet being unable to truly _have_ it. The feeling of flesh on flesh that Naruto was lucky enough to be experiencing, and with three girls at once. At the very least, she wished she could've at least been _somewhere_ in that mound of soft, feminine flesh that writhed all over his body.

Hinata dragged her soft, heavy teats up his chest up to his mouth, moaning as her hard nipples flicked against the contours of his muscles before being suckled upon. Fū made her first move since starting off with her grind, creeping up to his chest to start nuzzling him while tracing circles over his nipple. The rush that coursed through his veins sent more fluids pumping downwards, making Naruto even harder in Haku's hand.

With the sensation of wetness on her hand Haku crept lower on Naruto's body, pressing her face against the junction between his cock and his balls, lapping away at the base before sucking on it. Hinata and Fū did the same, each one taking a side to suck on his balls, while Haku ran her tongue up the length of his meat. Naruto unconsciously threaded his fingers through Hinata and Fū's hair, prompting them both to use their tongues to elicit a moan from his lips.

As she continued to masturbate to the live porn, Sayuri felt the rush as more lurid desires began cropping up in her mind. A part of her wanted to do this the easy way: lure Naruto into a trap, kidnap him through a portal spell, and then be free to do whatever she liked with him in the Ascendant Realm. The other part suggested using the three of them as hostages to get him wrapped around her finger. Either way, all possibilities would end up bringing Naruto to her.

The three of them took turns, each of them having a go at priming Naruto's cock with their tongues. As the seconds passed, Hinata became slightly bolder as her lips went past the tip before engulfing all ten inches of his manhood in her mouth. She bobbed her head, slathering the length of meat with saliva as Haku changed positions to suckle on her teats. Her moans sent waves of pleasure up Naruto's back. At the same time, Fū kissed up from Naruto's scrotum to begin running her tongue up his body to start nuzzling his neck. She then reached her hand across his chest, pulling his face into hers for a kiss to stifle his moaning in her throat.

Sayuri watched as Hinata let Naruto's cock slip out of her mouth, allowing the fluids to splatter on her and Haku's faces. She activated her Sharingan to have a better look at the fluid, as well as the inner-workings of Naruto's body. Whatever it was that now flowed through a Guardian's body, it replaced all fluids with a substance that allowed the Light to flow more easily through their bodies. It was doubtful a woman could get pregnant from the stuff however, considering most Guardians were effectively zombies with a soul.

Apparently satisfied with her kiss, Fū stood up, taking in the dazed expression on Naruto's face before turning around to face her comrades. Haku lapped up the gel from Hinata's face before settling the girl on her back. "We'll go first," she said gently, "Your first time with him should be special."

Hinata was too flustered to say anything, so Haku turned to face her fellow Hunter. "You wanna go first, or should I?"

"Doesn't matter to me," Fū answered with a shrug, "If you want, you can go first."

Haku nodded. She sat up, positioning Naruto's prick into her pussy before impaling herself on it with a long, drawn-out moan. Fū on the other hand, sat on his face, rubbing her slit over his mouth. The two of them pumped and ground slowly, arousing Sayuri's lust with their rhythm, prompting her to dig her fingers deeper into her as Fū gently rolled her hips over his mouth. Meanwhile, Haku's movements were slow, taking her time to go up and down her shaft as Naruto's hands slowly slid up her legs before getting a good grip on her waist before bucking his hips in response. _Now things are getting serious!_ thought Sayuri.

Sayuri's train of thought was broken when she heard a small squeak next to her. Off the corner of her eye, she saw Hinata masturbating at the head of the bed while watching the threesome. Her keen eyes tracing the outline of her left hand, massaging and sinking into soft, pale tit-flesh. The Uchiha girl was torn between emotions: on the one hand, she felt a mixture of envy and inadequacy from how naturally pure and beautiful Hinata was. On the other, she wished she had her body just to smother her face in the valley between the Hyūga's huge tits, or even to suck on them for a bit of girl-on-girl action. _With such a perfect body, combined with a beautiful soul, what more could you need?_

With a playful smirk, Sayuri craned in on Hinata's ear, pretending she could hear. " _Sorry, but I'll be taking Naruto-kun with me into the Abyss,"_ she whispered, taunting her, " _But don't worry, you won't be alone; once everything is done, I'll take_ you _as my handmaid, serving at my beck and call~"_

She turned her attention back to the threesome, just in time to watch as Fū turned to face Haku. The former Jinchūriki pulled the Ice Princess in to plant a kiss on her lips, her respectable C-cups squishing against Haku's smaller bust. Naruto thrusted faster into Haku, the sudden hard spike into her, coupled with the Ice Princess's twitching body and stifled screaming as he came into her.

Haku slumped off his cock and onto the mattress, weakened and with a pleasured smile on her face as she drifted off into sleep. At the same time, Fū climbed off of Naruto's face, getting down on her hands and knees; her suggestive expression as she looked back at him spoke volumes. Naruto crept up to her, positioning himself over her entrance before penetrating his fellow Jinchūriki in one shot, causing her to gasp in surprise. As he began his ministrations, Naruto grabbed onto Fū's hips, pulling her ass into him with a wet *smack* that mingled with her rhythmic moaning.

Sayuri resumed her masturbation as she watched Naruto humping Fū, gradually spooning her while grabbing gently onto her brown tits, massaging them gently with every thrust. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Hinata crawling on all fours towards the couple. She gently pried Naruto's body off Fū's back, pulling him up so that she could reach her hands around him. Fū was lifted up in an angle so that she was supported by his hands.

Hinata slowly moved her hands on Naruto's body, one hand around his abdomen, the other on his chest, her soft breasts squishing against his back as she nuzzled him in the crook of his neck. Sayuri had to change positions to get a better view of the action, watching as Hinata moved her hips in rhythm with Naruto's thrusts. She could hear Hinata's hot breath brushing against his ear through Fū's 'singing' while the two of them began to thrust faster and harder into her. A hard thrust into Fū's pussy sapped the strength in her elbows, causing her to fall face-first onto the bed; her hands fisted the blanket as Naruto continued to pound into her raised ass with more ferocity. With a sudden stop, Naruto and Hinata fell on top of Fū and the former Jinchūriki twitched as he came into her.

After pulling out of Fū, Naruto turned to look at Hinata. Her eyes were frosted over with lust and instinct as her legs spread apart. "Please, Naruto-kun…" she whispered.

Naruto crawled towards Hinata, starting with a kiss on the lips as they wrapped their arms around each other. Sayuri watched with rapt attention as the couple before her simply kissed…lovingly from what she could tell. Whatever strength had left Naruto after his session with Fū began to gradually return as he broke the kiss to suckle on one of Hinata's tits. She fisted his hair, her hands following as he moved on down to her nether-regions to play with her clit. Sayuri could feel her blood rush as Naruto broke off from the foreplay, positioning his hardened cock over Hinata's cunt, rubbing his tip on the slit. He took his time with her, teasing her as he prodded her entrance, stopping short midway into her before pulling out, eliciting a cute squeak.

Sayuri felt the anticipation building within her, wondering if he would go all the way in or not. However, she was brought down from her sex-induced high as she began to lose sight of the action. "No!" she moaned, her view of Naruto thrusting hard into Hinata disappearing in a haze, "Not now! It was starting to get good!"

Her momentary blindness gave way to the dark, organic architecture of her castle. Sensations finally returned to her body, the strain on her knees telling her that she collapsed on her knees before falling on her back. Sayuri reached for her forehead, massaging away the throbbing pain of memories barrelling their way into her head before standing up. A wet sensation between her legs from the lurid images she'd seen in her Scrying spell.

"That's fine," she mused to herself, "Just a taste of what I shall get when I begin my assault in earnest."

She thoughtfully turned her attention skyward. The Darkness had promised her the power to take what she wanted; her better half had a point—that deal came with strings. Her god had not made it clear what those strings were, but she wasn't going to take any chances. As the warlord Sōsō once said, prior to the start of the Clan Wars: "Better to _do_ wrong to everyone under the heavens than for everyone under the heavens to wrong _me_."

Sayuri had new ambitions―once she killed Itachi and avenged the death of her clan, she could take her time doing whatever she wanted. However, the Darkness was watching and was aware of her desires…why hadn't it made a move? "It never hurts to try" she mused to herself, shrugging, "Besides, why _serve_ a god when you could _be_ one?"

…

 _ **A/N:**_

 _ **More talk, maybe a bit of emotion, and an H-scene…I honestly don't know what you ladies and gents make of this.**_

 _ **Anyway, I must give a big shout-out to Soleneus, as he gave me good ideas on the thought of using the Fate Refinery to cure diseases and curses being a controversial solution. It's also due to his original Destiny fic that I have the idea of making sleep a very-much required necessity for Guardians.**_

 _ **Props to UnitedOsprey1991, for helping a bit.**_

 _ **And most definitely, a round of applause to NorthSouthGorem for helping with the…hentai.**_

 _ **NS: You're welcome. Maybe next time you can get my help WITHOUT KVETCHING AT ME.**_

 _ **{Ahem}…all that aside, please give them all a look, would you kindly?**_

 _ **And please keep all reviews relevant and classy.**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary:**_

 _ **Ōkami no Kishi—written as "**_ _ **狼の騎士"**_ _ **which means "wolf knights"**_


	20. You Made Me A Believer

_**A/N: This took a while, but at least it got done. And I have to work early today…might as well rip off the band-aid then.**_

 _ **Warning: This will be primarily a talky-chapter.**_

 _ **In any case, do read and review would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

[Konoha Art Gallery, a month later]

All was quiet as Danzo walked down the halls of his favorite haunt flanked by six of his best ROOT operatives, including Fu and Torune. It was the one place where he could feel secure, surrounded on all sides by agents he'd posted here disguised as employees. In addition to admiring the paintings on display, both native and looted, the gallery also served as an office away from his own office. It was here that he could make appointments with anyone lucky enough to get an audience with him; today however, he was called out to this particular room out of the blue.

Though for the sake of privacy, several of his operatives had been sent out to other assignments, lest he frightened this person off. Whoever it was that called for this appointment had nerves of steel, and a fair bit of knowledge on ROOT's special cipher. What little bit of graphology he managed to pick up shed some light on the person he was about to meet: the way the characters were written suggested that his guest was female, although the hand was rather precise. _Who are you?_ Danzo asked himself.

His thoughts were cut short as he noted a feminine form sitting on a bench with her back to a window. Her features were obscured by a silken veil, and she wore tight-fitting clothes that hugged her curves. Leather high-heel boots complemented a pair of gloves made from a synthetic material as she admired an ink painting he himself had looted on mission once in his youth. She wasn't alone however, as she had two people standing watch, both of whom were wearing heavy cloaks that masked their identity; but Danzo could make out the hard edges of heavy armor underneath the taller figure's cloak.

 _Might as well get this over with,_ he thought, taking up position next to the guest. The subject was of a fish, some sea turtles, and two toads helping a flock of gulls prepare for a dinner-party; a work made centuries ago by a renowned Mizu no Kuni artist. "This is actually one of my favorite works," he said, attention focused on the artwork, "A priceless work by Hokusai Mangetsu."

"I'm familiar," the woman answered sharply, "If I'm not mistaken, it hasn't been seen for a good decade or so."

Danzo looked at her from the corner of his eye, only to notice that her features were obstructed by a small scarf and sunglasses that covered her entire face. She wore some kind of form-fitting armor under her fanciful garb. Though oddly enough, she'd been sitting perfectly still…not even a little bit of fidgeting from her.

"You've got my attention," he said, studying his painting, "Now what do you want?"

"To offer a ceasefire," she answered, "On behalf of the Guardians."

"You work for the Guardians?" he asked, noting the two that were also in the room with her guest.

"Bitch, we _are_ Guardians," answered the Guest.

Upon realizing exactly who it was that brought him out here, Danzo quickly reached for the grip of his sword, prepared to cut into his guest, only for something to break through the windows. As fast as the eye could blink, two of his retinue lost their heads, their bodies slumping to the ground. In rapid succession, the two cloaked figures pulled out small weapons in their hands with large tubes attached, a loud but dull *clack* sounded off, killing two more guards, leaving only Fu and Torune.

Danzo could feel the smug grin on his guest's face as he heard her chortle. "We've got all the cards on the table, so don't bother trying to fight back."

"You come well-prepared; a woman after my heart," Danzo sniped, "But I refuse to speak any further with a mask—identify yourself, or else there's nothing to talk about."

The woman pulled down her scarf, revealing a mechanical face, and glowing eyes. "She" lowered her veil, revealing a sleek helmet made for speed. There was almost an aquatic look in how "her" armor was constructed. "Whoever it is that's doing this is most obviously a coward, sending puppets to do his dirty work." Danzo declared, looking around the gallery for signs of chakra strings.

"There's no puppeteer," the machine replied sharply, much to Danzo's surprise, "Don't compare me to those wooden toys that Suna's so proud to play around with! We Exo are so much more than that…so you wanna talk, talk to me."

Danzo stared at the machine with equal parts curiosity and rage…and a hint of respect. Nobody was able to outdo him like this for such a long time. "Identify yourself… _machine_."

"The body before you is mechanical," the machine answered nonchalantly, "But the soul inside still answers to Tobiuo Iroha…former jōnin of Kirigakure."

"I think I've heard of you," answered Danzo, recognizing the name, "You were a part of Zabuza's ill-fated coup against the Mizukage, weren't you?"

"Guilty as charged," Iroha replied, looking back at the painting.

"So what brings a dead Kiri Kunoichi to Konoha?" Danzo asked, turning his attention back to the painting.

"Like I said, we're offering you a truce," Iroha answered, "We're willing to cease all hostilities with ROOT…in exchange for you using your power to _actually help_ the village."

"What do you think I've been doing?"

"Really? Then let's recap on how you've been 'helping' the village, with your 'disbanded' organization," countered Iroha; her tone was calm, but her were words tinged with venom as her lights began to intensify with her anger. "Let's start with the Uchiha Massacre…all those people dead, when you could've resolved the problem peacefully. You could've at _least_ tried to talk them down, or barring that, kill all the people _directly_ involved in the coup so that they don't make any more trouble for the rest of the clan. Instead, you wanted to terminate with extreme prejudice, and you made Itachi a traitor to his own clan and village as a result.

"Now, we get to that incident in Amegakure. Things were actually starting to look up in that part of the world, until _you_ came into the picture. Talks were going to happen, Hanzo was going to make peace with Akatsuki…then _you_ had to open your big, fucking mouth, and convince Hanzo to turn on them. The situation went from bad to worse the second you decided to get the entire group killed….you failed, by the way, and now they're running around committing no shortage of atrocities. What's worse is that you could've handed the Hokage your intel on the Akatsuki so that at the very least, the damage could be contained.

"And don't even get me started on the other things you already have going on. The fact of the matter is, _nothing_ you've done has helped the village at all! You're only fucking up the world worse than it already is, while giving Konoha more enemies than she needs. You're a mad dog that the Nidaime Hokage should've killed a long time ago. And don't you dare tell me that it was for the good of the village, because we both know it's bullshit; in the end, you're just a glorified terrorist."

"Is that supposed to rattle me?" Danzo challenged, his hidden Sharingan beginning to flare.

"Not at all, I'm just calling things as I see them," answered Iroha, seemingly unaffected, "However, the reality is that we're kinda busy right now, which makes _you_ a lesser evil; but at the same time, we're fucking tired of having to clean up your messes. Which is why we're giving you this chance to help protect the village and redeem yourself."

"And If I were to refuse?"

Iroha heaved a frustrated sigh, leveling an impatient stare at Danzo. "You really wanna push your luck with us? Since the day we've had our own spy network up and running, we've been monitoring your movements…that's why we were able to ambush your operatives for quite some time now. And trust me, if we were serious in killing you and your toy soldiers, it'd be like the Akatsuki Purge all over again—only we have _all_ your assets accounted for: safehouses, banks holding your dirty money, hell we even have an exact estimate as to how much hardware you're packing. One word from me or Naruto, and we'll purge the hell out of your little cult."

The machine named "Iroha" held all the cards on the table; if she and the other Guardians had given the word, every ROOT base would've been ruthlessly purged and all assets seized. In Danzo's mind, the truce sounded like a very good idea, if only to buy time to get these monsters off his back. Still, he had more questions. "Why come to me? If this is as big a threat you say it is, why offer me this truce at all?"

"Because the war that's coming is not the kind that you can control," answered Iroha, taking a moment to calm herself before turning her attention back to the painting, "When the time comes, we know whose side we're on…whether the Shinobi Nations like it or not is another matter entirely. You however, we're seeing personally because that war's coming a lot sooner than you think, and on a scale where not even _you_ can get out of it unscathed."

Iroha sat up, putting her sunglasses and scarf back on. "We'll stay in touch," she added, turning to leave, "But in all honesty, I want you to consider this _carefully_. It's at times like these, in the calm before the storm, when it's most important to pick a side—even if it's the wrong one. And right now, if you don't change and _really_ help the village weather the storm, you guys won't even last a second in the war to come."

Danzo watched as Iroha began to fade into nothingness. Her guards turned to leave, walking out the front door. As much as he hated to admit it, what that machine-woman said had hit him—this was a war he couldn't win alone. And at the end of the day, he had to pick a side to throw his lot with if he wanted to survive. _I suppose I can set aside my ambitions for the moment…_

…

[Amegakure]

A torrent poured over the village of Amegakure as Jiraiya stalked the streets in disguise and lowered chakra levels. How the place hadn't flooded yet from the constant rain was beyond him, but he still had a lead to pursue on the Akatsuki front. Were it not for the fact that he'd sent a messenger pigeon to Tsunade that he was near the village, nobody would've known he was here. He was curious as to how the Guardian front was going to manage without him, but pushed that thought to the back of his mind; he had a mission here after all.

One of his spies had gone dark in this place, which meant that an Akatsuki big shot was here. In addition, said spy had made mention of a strange occurrence that had happened before they were made out and killed…something about a storyteller coming to the village months ago with two others. At first, the spy thought nothing of the storyteller, thinking her to be nothing but a useless beggar; until she started telling her stories. Sometimes, they were stories of mighty heroes who brought down giant monsters, all-powerful god-emperors of pure evil, even power-hungry madmen. Other times, they were parables to give wisdom for daily life. Still, whoever she was seemed to be important if she was escorted by two figures in hooded cloaks.

Still, Jiraiya made it a point to go find this woman and have a word with her before looking for Pain. Besides, he still needed to study the lay of the land before he made a move, so he may as well hear a few stories while he was at it. _If only it didn't rain anymore,_ he thought glumly _This place is even more depressing than the last time I was here!_

"Another story! Another story!" came the voice of children. Jiraiya glanced to the right, finding the very person he was looking for, sitting on a bench under a gazebo. Her face was hidden under a hood, and she was swathed in richly-made clothing that obscured her identity. The storyteller's figure seemed rather delicate, but his trained eyes could make out the signs of a mother under her jacket. She also wore a pair of well-made boots and gloves to suit the rainy season. Her 'guards' however, were larger figures wearing hooded cloaks over heavy armor; both of them sat nearby, pretending to be busy with something else while guarding their charge. However, in spite of their hidden identities, Jiraiya noted that all three ladies -the subtle swells under the armor gave it away- carried themselves as veterans of war.

"Hmm, I wonder, what story should I tell?" asked the storyteller playfully as the children flocked to her. Jiraiya noted that their parents were nearby, keeping an out. "How would you kids like to hear a different story?"

The children cheered as they got their wish. "Then please sit down. It's a short story, but I'm pretty sure it'll be interesting…it's a story with a meaning."

Sitting down quietly, the children waited expectantly for the storyteller to begin. Jiraiya however, remained silent as he thought about the voice. _Where did I hear that voice before…?_

"Once upon a time, there was a wealthy farmer who was busy spreading wheat seeds with his servants in preparation for the year's harvest. After everything was done, everyone went to sleep…until the farmer's enemy snuck around at night and started spreading weed seeds around the field."

"Why would he do that?" asked a child.

"Because he didn't like the farmer!" retorted another.

"That's not nice."

"Of course it's not nice," the storyteller agreed, "But sometimes, it _does_ happen. Anyway, back to the story: by the time they realized what had happened, the seeds were already sprouting. So one of the servants said to the master, 'don't worry, we'll pull those weeds out in a jiffy.' The master said no."

"Why?" asked a boy in ragged clothing.

The storyteller sighed happily at the curiosity of the children. "In those days, it was hard to tell which was which. And besides, if you start pulling the weeds out early, you'll damage the soil and ruin the wheat too. So the master said, 'wait for the harvest, _then_ you can sort them out—when the time comes to collect the wheat, burn the weeds.'"

The next child to ask a question was a particularly bright-looking girl, her clothing belonging to one of the upper-middle class. "What's the meaning of the story?"

"When it comes to people that did bad things in life, it's best to wait for all their deeds to be seen before you can say anything about them. Because if you go around hurting people just because they've done bad things, you'll hurt all the good people too…just like with the weeds and the wheat. In the end, the good people will go to heaven, while the bad people will be punished."

"Like Konoha?" asked a grubby-looking girl in rags, much to Jiraiya's horror, "Pain-sama says that _everyone_ in Konoha is bad."

"Believe it or not, not everybody in Konoha deserves to be punished," the storyteller countered gently, "There may be _some_ pretty bad people there, but most just want to live their lives in peace like anyone else…something that certain people simply _refuse_ understand. It's the same everywhere else; there are bad people everywhere, giving their homes a bad name. So before you say anything bad about the people of Konoha, or any other village for that matter, take a look around—are the people in those places any worse than the ones here?"

The children had a thoughtful expression as they contemplated the storyteller's words. They all sat up, thanked her for the stories and left with their parents. When everyone was out of earshot, the storyteller turned her attention to Jiraiya. "Have a seat," offered the storyteller, making room for him to sit on the bench.

"That was a pretty good story there," Jiraiya remarked, settling down next to her, "Did you think of it yourself?"

"It's just an old, forgotten story," admitted the storyteller, "One that I'd read a long time ago."

Jiraiya needed more time to speak with the woman…he wanted to see why she sounded so familiar. But he needed to be careful so as not to incur the wrath of her guards. "And how does that story relate to today?" he asked, genuinely curious about the answer,

As she turned to face him, Jiraiya noted that she wore a white, full-faced and featureless mask under her hood, and yet he could feel her eyes on him…and a mischievous smile. "The time for the harvest has already begun the day the Traveler reawakened, and it's been in full swing since Naruto's return. Right now, we're pulling out the weeds in preparation for the Traveler's return."

Aha! Now they were getting somewhere. Still, Jiraiya wondered how the Guardians able to infiltrate the village before he could. "So the Guardians are making another move. What, you trying to kill a village with story-time?"

"Just baby-steps towards giving these people a better future," explained the storyteller, "I'd reviewed Naruto's plans thoroughly for a while now, and figured that while an invasion of Amegakure _was_ feasible, it'd be more trouble than it's worth in the long run. Thus, I've ordered him to stand down, and let _me_ handle the Amegakure front—save all that experimental tech we've been developing for the war to come."

"From what intel my spy network managed to gather, Naruto has a lot of pull among the other Guardians," noted Jiraiya, "Judging by the fact that you can command him at all, it's safe to assume that you're their commander-in-chief."

The storyteller chuckled lightly. "I'm just the mouthpiece of our god; but yes, my position is pretty much commander-in-chief. Aside from speaking on behalf of the Traveler, my main responsibility is to see to the spiritual needs of those under its protection. I guess you can see me as the high priestess of the Traveler."

That explained the guards, but not what the 'Speaker' had planned to do for the long game. Either way, she seemed to have this situation under control. "Leave this place, I'm fairly certain they'll see through your disguise soon enough—a scenario that won't end well for you."

Jiraiya huffed in amusement. "For being one of the people that showed up my spy network, you're very courteous."

"I don't exactly like some of the things you do, but you're still a good man at heart, Ero-sannin."

Jiraiya's pupils shrunk into pinpricks at that last word, staring in shock at the Speaker. The woman reached up to her mask, pulling it off to reveal a very familiar face looking back at him with a mischievous grin and deep blue eyes. _Now_ he understood why that voice sounded familiar; he'd recently heard that Guardians were people resurrected from the dead, but to think that _she_ would be raised as one did not register in his mind. "Ku-"

The Speaker gently raised her finger, shushing Jiraiya. "No names. One of the first things a Speaker gives up is their identity—we shun the self in order to better understand our god. It's a tradition that goes back millennia. Besides, you never know _who's_ listening."

"Where's Minato?" Jiraiya inquired, sincerely curious about his past student.

"Right now, he's keeping an eye on Naruto-kun," answered the Speaker, putting her mask back on, "A task made even more difficult with the Darkness's return."

There was no disputing that; with a war already on the horizon, it'd be hard to do much bodyguard work when you still have a lot of preparations to make. Jiraiya knew Minato could handle the job…he wasn't the Yondaime Hokage for nothing after all. One question on his mind was _who else have the Guardians resurrected?_

"Just go home, I've got everything under control here," assured the Speaker.

Jiraiya silently agreed with her assessment. At the moment, he'd found what he needed to know about the storyteller; still, he had a bit of…sightseeing to do. "I can't leave just yet; I need to find out everything I can about Pai―"

"There's no need," the Speaker interrupted calmly, but clearly frustrated with his intent to continue his espionage, "Pain's weapon is a faith born from fear. By the time you've got all your intel in order, we'll have shown these people a _real_ god and that Pain is just a phony using cheap parlor tricks to get what he wants. In the end, _this_ problem will be resolved before you can even use any of that information. I recommend that you go home, and help shore up the defenses; the Darkness is already at our doorstep. I don't know when, but Konoha will need every hand it can get to even _survive_ the night."

The look of shock and disbelief were written on Jiraiya's face as he turned to regard the Speaker. "Survive? What could be so bad that we can only _survive_ it?"

"I've been getting reports on the state of things here in the Shinobi Nations," explained the Speaker, "From what I've seen so far, Uchiha Sayuri is willing to use hostages as bait to lure Naruto out. And if that's the case, then what better hostage to take than all of Konoha?"

"You obviously haven't lived in Konoha long enough," Jiraiya retorted, "You should know by now that we're not as weak as you think."

"From what I gather, Sayuri has enough backing from the Darkness to have undead monsters called The Hive at her beck and call," admitted the Speaker, "In addition, she's been turning our Guardians against us, cursing them to constantly feed off the Light or else they'll lose their souls to the Darkness. We're working on trying to capture and cure them all before things get worse; but in the meantime, we're sending loyal Guardians that aren't scouts back to their home villages. I don't doubt that Naruto's back home already, getting ready to counter the invasion along with other Konoha-born Guardians, but we cannot hope to turn the tide of this war alone. We're going to need everybody to stand united if we're going to survive this; and as long as Akatsuki remains a loose end, that's not gonna happen."

Jiraiya stared at the Speaker, wondering if what she'd just said was true; that an invasion of Konoha was imminent and that Uchiha Sayuri would be bringing in a large force of both the Hive and her army of cursed Guardians. A part of him wanted to speak out, demand evidence, anything to deny what he'd just heard as the truth―but his instincts leaned towards believing her. He stood up, looking down at the Speaker warily. "I'll go home, but I still have to report this to Tsunade."

"Do what you have to," replied the Speaker, looking away at the distance. As she took in the scenery before her, Jiraiya no longer sat among them."You'll need all the help you can get to weather the coming storm."

…

[Ichiraku Ramen Stand]

Ayame wiped the counter of the ramen stand quietly as several patrons left with a smile on their faces. She smiled back warmly, waving them goodbye as she picked up their sake bottles as her father readied the next batch of noodles. Things were never the same after Naruto died on his mission; with the revelation of his origins as the Yondaime Hokage's son, people started coming in droves. Some spoke of how they knew of Naruto from making them chase him all around the village, others told stories of his more elaborate pranks.

Then came the revelation that Naruto was back from the dead, and one of the so-called 'vigilantes' that were going around the world whacking off bandits and would-be despots. His sudden appearance in the village recently, as well as Sakura's debriefing had put the village on high alert. Still, people made time to come here for their meals, if only to talk rather than eat.

So far, most recurring customers in the stand were Iruka and Choji, both of whom were taking their time with their bowls of ramen. Iruka stared at his bowl pensively, while Choji scarfed down every bowl he could get his hands on. In a way, both seemed to be savoring the flavor as if it would be the last they would see of her stand. With the rumor mill going on about an inevitable war that would engulf the entire world, it was no surprise—if these were going to be Ayame's last days, she wanted to make them count.

"Take it slow, Choji," said Iruka, finally starting on his bowl, "You never know if it'll be your last meal."

"I know," Choji answered, "That's why I want to eat as much as I can. If this war is coming, I wanna be ready for the day it comes—but I'm also scared. I mean, we've dealt with bandits before, but an all-out war?"

"Wars are never a good thing, but they're an inevitable and eternal fact of life," Iruka agreed, "Whether or not we're the ones that started it, it always has to happen sooner or later—and for different reasons too. In the end, anything you do to try and stop it only winds up putting it off for another day…not much of a consolation, I know, but every day we manage to postpone a war is still a victory in itself. It's just that I'm not sure if we're gonna survive the one to come."

"You think we'll really get any help from the Guardians?" asked Choji, turning to face Iruka.

Iruka set down his bowl, pausing in thought. "I don't know…but I'm hoping they will. If that war's as bad as the Hokage thinks, then we're all in this together, for good or bad."

Ayame sighed sadly, turning her attention to the street to notice a figure in a hooded trench coat walking down the street. Their face was concealed by the shadows of the hood, and the sleeves were wide enough to cover their hands. The contours under the coat suggested a masculine form—if the lack of a telltale bulge on the chest were any indication. Whoever it was didn't want to be found out…but Iruka and Choji had already figured out that there was a stranger in their midst, and so their eyes were warily glued onto the newcomer.

The Stranger took a seat, revealing gloved hands as he settled down. "I'd like six bowls of chāshūmen; large please," he said, his voice somewhat familiar to Ayame, "Green tea too."

"Somebody's peckish today," she noted, scribbling down on a notepad, "Anything else?"

"Not until I finish my six bowls."

Iruka and Choji stared cautiously at the stranger, knowing who could order that much ramen this confidently. The contours underneath the coat were too slim to belong to an Akimichi, which left one person. "So how's life?" Iruka asked, breaking the ice while slowly reaching for a kunai in his pouch.

"Could be better," admitted the stranger, as the bowl was placed in front of him and promptly went to work on his food, swishing around the barbecued pork and fish cake toppings around before starting on the noodles.

"What brings you back now, Naruto?" inquired Choji, cutting straight to the chase. With his attention focused on Naruto, he had his chakra ready to fight.

"Ah, I missed this—nothing really beats Ichiraku Ramen," Naruto sighed, in between bites of his ramen. As he did so, he pulled down the hood of his trench coat, turning his attention back to Choji and Iruka, much to the shock of Ayame. "And I figured, considering what's coming up on the horizon, it's best we all come home and beef up security around here."

Choji narrowed his eyes, hands ready to make a grab if necessary. "I'm sorry, 'we?'"

"Hello there, Choji-san, Iruka-sensei," A female voice chimed in behind them, startling the two ninja. Swinging around, they saw another Guardian approaching them, kitted out in heavy armor under a hooded overcoat. If the curves on this one's body were any indication, this one was female—and with a stacked bust at that.

Naruto grinned and waved the Guardian over. "Hey Hinata, come have some Ramen with us! They won't bite!"

Iruka's irises shrank to pinpricks upon hearing the Guardian's name. Her sleek, faceless helmet vanished in a flash of light, revealing the soft and beautiful features of Hyūga Hinata looking at Naruto, almost chiding. "Naruto-kun, whatever happened to going incognito?"

"If it's people we know well, then we probably would've been found out anyway," Naruto replied, picking up a few pieces of pork, "But in answer to your question Choji, by 'we,' I mean the rest of the Konoha Guardians we've managed to resurrect. And let me tell you, we've raised _a lot_ of people from the dead in these parts over the past few years."

"You're desecrating the dead?" Iruka gasped, almost outraged at the prospect.

"We're not really desecrating the dead so much as we're giving them a new lease on life," Naruto answered, under Ayame's calling her father from the kitchen. "Though sometimes, a Guardian is raised from a bad person that didn't want to change, so we had to put them down before they hurt anyone. Besides, we don't just go for the dead; a good number of us were chosen while we're still among the living."

"How many of you are there?" asked Choji, looking out the streets warily.

"In general? I'd say there's probably at least one Guardian for every five Shinobi out there," admitted Hinata, her demeanor taking on a little more confidence, "If you're talking about here in Konoha, I don't know for certain; many Konoha-born Guardians are working as scouts in the wilderness, but they'll rush back home at the first sign of trouble."

"Overkill much?" Iruka asked, going back to his ramen.

"With the Darkness's return, overkill is the _only_ solution," answered Naruto, sipping his tea as Ayame gingerly served up another bowl of ramen, "Sounds extreme, but we've been preparing for this day for a while now. It's just that none of us were expecting it this soon."

"So what happens now?" asked Teuchi.

Naruto reached his hand out in front of him, allowing a small, floating object to hover in his hand. It was a small black sphere surrounded by eight triangular points, looking back at him with a square 'eye.' Ayame looked at the thing curiously. _What is that thing?_

"Ryūsei, how many Guardians do we have in the village so far?" Naruto asked the little ball, still shoveling ramen into his face.

"So far?" asked the sphere, much to everyone's shock, "I'm picking up just over a hundred Guardians hiding in the village now, including the ones that are still among the living. Everyone else is out in the wilderness so as not to be suspicious. They're all taking shifts between protecting the village and acting as the first line of defense."

In Ayame's mind, the very idea that no less than a hundred Guardians had infiltrated the village was mind-blowing. The rumor mill had already established that if they wanted to storm a village, just three of them were enough to breach the walls and slaughter half the shinobi forces of Kirigakure during the rebellion. Six could theoretically have resulted in a one-sided takeover of the village, potentially with enough strength left over to take on Terumī Mei and her rebels too. Going by that logic, a hundred should be just enough to take over no less than a quarter of the _country_. "What about in the other villages?" asked Hinata.

"Still growing, not sure if it'll be enough though," answered Ryūsei, "Unlike the last time this happened, the Darkness isn't gonna pull any punches. The way I see it, after being blindsided and all, we're lucky so far to have even _survived_ ―we've had more than our fair share of bloodied noses after the Red Legion's invasion eons ago."

"I'm sorry, who?" asked Iruka, confused as to what the little machine was talking about.

"Nobody we want to meet now, or ever," explained Naruto curtly, "But I _will_ say that it's a good thing they're probably long dead by now. The Red Legion is an army of creatures from beyond the stars called the Cabal, a crazy-militarized race of technologically-advanced giants packing heavy weapons. They were led by an emperor named Ghaul, who defeated the Guardians by cutting off their connection to the Light, scattering them to the winds, and destroying their tower."

"And all their stuff," Ryūsei added blithely.

"Anyway, we're getting as many people as we can back to their villages," Naruto continued finishing off another bowl of ramen, "We're trying to beef up security so at the very least, it'll be less likely for anybody to be caught with their pants down."

"So it's true?" asked Teuchi, finally entering the conversation, "There's a war on the horizon?"

"Yes, it is." Hinata replied, "We don't know when it's coming, or where it'll start, but you can rest assured: the shinobi won't be fighting this war alone. If need be, the living and the dead shall fight together to survive the long night."

"Though in the meantime, we're planning to integrate with each village's shinobi forces," Naruto added, "That means you guys are probably gonna learn to use our stuff and tactics while we get ready for the war to come. With any luck, it'll be another feather in your hat to survive; assuming of course, the Kage are willing to take our help."

There wasn't much that Ayame could say; matters of war were beyond her. Still, to see Naruto again like this brought tears to her eyes. "I'm glad you're back, Naruto-kun. God knows how much we miss you."

"Good to _be_ back, Teuchi-jiji, Ayame-nee," he answered.

The night passed as the six of them caught up, laughing away as stories were recounted over bowls of ramen. Naruto and Hinata shared their adventures, while Iruka and Choji spoke of their own daily lives outside of shinobi work. Overall, the air of joviality was clear on the stall as Teuchi and Ayame listened intently to the stories both sides had to tell. It was indeed good that Naruto had returned, along with every other Guardian from Konoha.

…

[Elsewhere]

The entire area was busy as Hive Wizards flitted about, their songs adding an ominous air to the chamber. Some were surrounding a pillar of eerie golden light, hands clasped in prayer as they chanted rhythmically. Others were accompanied by Acolyte attendants they had taken as apprentices. And to buff up security, six of her best Knights knelt on the ground in prayer, awaiting orders.

Sayuri sat on her throne, bony armor formed on her body, reinforced with layer upon layer of steely chitin. As she lounged around, looking at the projection before her, she could not help but feel satisfaction in herself…and at what she'd summoned from beyond the grave. The form she was eyeing looked like an elongated diamond that tapered towards the front. It was much smaller than Oryx's dreadnought but it still mounted a great deal of weapons and armor while being significantly faster. Like the interceptor she'd made with her mind, the battle cruiser was part creature, part machine, and all vicious…the only difference being a matter of size.

Her Hive spawn and remaining fallen Guardians ready for the assault, waiting on her order to strike. There were many feelings running through her mind as she looked upon the village from which she was born…things she wanted to do to the people within. So much to do, and so little time.

Among the things she had to do there, was to avenge the death of her clan. The Darkness had once told her that Itachi's betrayal of his clan was because of Shimura Danzo, an elder of the village known for his extremist ideology. She would deal with Itachi in due time, but only after she made the last Shimura in the world beg for his life, before devouring his soul and what little Light he had left. Barring her mother, there was no love lost between Sayuri and her clan, it's just the principle of the matter—nobody killed her mother, _and lived_. Not traitors to the clan in any shape or form, and definitely _not_ megalomaniacs that hid their desires behind a duty to protect the village.

The other reason she wanted to return was because of a gut feeling that Naruto would return to the village to shore up its defenses against her and her god. During their last fight, she could feel something in him under all that fear and desperation. It was wavering, especially after revealing herself, but she could sense a strength in him that she associated with the chaplain who came to visit her in prison—the power of faith. And yet, as much faith as he had in his god, she knew Naruto's heart ultimately belonged to his home village and the people he cherished. Thus, if the forces of Darkness threatened Konoha, it was more than likely that Naruto would return to assist in its defense…along with any other Guardian with ties to that village. _As much as I would like to make you worship me instead, you are dessert compared to my other priorities right now,_ she mused to herself, _and make no mistake, once I devour the divine power of_ both _our gods, all shall kneel before me!_

"That assumes the Darkness will let you have more than it's already provided," her own voice sniped over the sounds of every soul at work. Sayuri sighed in exasperation as she looked out the corner of her eye. _Oh no._

Sitting around near the power core, being ignored by everyone else on the bridge of her ship was her conscience. This time however, she was wearing a well-made leather jacket with a long tail, a pair of gauntlets, and a pauldron over her left shoulder. Her pants ballooned around her calves where she wore a pair of boots. To complete her appearance, she was also casually fidgeting with a sphere of Void Light in both hands.

"It's me," she sang mockingly, her attention still on the ball as it pulsated violently in her hands.

The only good thing at the moment was that Sayuri was able to telepathically communicate with Sayuki; mostly due to the fact that she was now part of her subconscious. After all, it simply wouldn't do if the subjects saw their queen talking to herself. _A Warlock now? You seem a tad fickle on your path as a Guardian. Nice jacket, by the way._

"Don't sidetrack the issue," said Sayuki, allowing the ball to burst in a spectacular display of purple sparks, "Before, I thought that I couldn't be surprised by how low you'll stoop to feed your megalomania. And then, you find the arrogance in you to think that devouring divine power will make you a god in turn. You have no idea how sickened I am of you right now."

 _Well what did you expect?_ Sayuri shot back mentally, _I used to_ just _be all seven of your most sinful desires personified. We were locked deep within your subconscious, growing stronger without your knowledge, until Orochimaru gave us his Curse Mark. Since then, we all merged to become the dark side you've done everything in your power to stamp out in prison. The final nail in the coffin came when the Darkness crowned_ me _the queen of this body._

"As always, you're thinking like a horse," Sayuki snipped, casually forming another Void ball in her hands, "And a traitorous one at that. Although considering the dominance of your hubris, lust, and gluttony, I'd have to say you're more of a pig than a horse."

If Sayuri was offended at all by that statement, she did precious little to show it. Instead, she wore a confident grin on her face, unflappable against her better half. With any luck, she would taunt a confrontation from her conscience. _Well then do something about it! I dare you! I'll show you just how powerless you really are when I finally put an end to you!_

"Fighting you now would be a mistake, both for me and my dignity," dismissed Sayuki, causing the Void ball to pulsate like a heart, "The time will come when we see just who is really the queen, and who is really the horse. And I can assure you, it won't be like the last time. In the meantime, I refuse to be in your presence any further."

Sayuri rolled her eyes. _Hah~! You're no fun._ As her gaze fell back upon her better half, she allowed a mischievous _All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy._

The mantra kept echoing through Sayuki's ears, disrupting her concentration. "You can say that all day, but you're not going to make me fight," she growled, as the Void sphere wavered in her hands. "I swear, what would mother say if she were to see us now?"

Sayuri was cut off at the next repetition of the mantra, her confident and victorious expression had turned into a simmering anger. _I'm gonna be a good sport, and pretend that you didn't bring our mom into this!_

Sayuki's attention was still on her ball, and her expression hadn't changed…however, Sayuri could tell that she was enjoying her payback. "Why? Because you know what she'd say if she were to meet us again?"

Headaches began to flare in her mind as Sayuri tried to tune her out. _Shut up!_

"She'd tell us she's ashamed of us! That we've disappointed her! And she'd remind us that this lust for power is what killed our clan in the first place!"

 _SHUT UP!_ Sayuri mentally shouted this time.

"And what's worse for you is that we don't know if she's up and about again as a Guardian. We could've been a human-Vex hybrid, and she'd still love us! But if she were to meet us as we are now, she would kill herself from the shame that her little golden girl has grown up to become so evil."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" she finally screamed with her voice, losing what little self-control she had left as she clutched her head while clenching her eyes shut. As she slowly opened her eyes, Sayuri noted that not only was Sayuki no longer around, but a number of the bridge crew were staring at her little outburst.

Mustering up what discipline she could, Sayuri took a deep breath before turning her attention to the crew. "Back to work!" she snapped, "C'mon! We need to get this thing flying proper for emergencies!"

As she slouched back in her seat, Sayuri heaved a sigh of relief at the fact that she no longer had to deal with Sayuki for the moment. _I'll get you for this, oh conscience mine…just you wait! After I tie up loose ends with Orochimaru and Itachi, the first thing I'm going to do when I'm free of you will be to continue my hunt for Naruto-kun. I'll make you watch as I get him to_ worship _me completely, while you die nice and slow, powerless to stop me!_

…

[Amegakure, the next day]

The Speaker sat at the gazebo, with her Guardian escort preventing the angry mob from reaching her. Surrounding them was the 'man' she was here to defeat—in six different bodies. Five of them had their hair dyed orange, one of them was bald underneath his turban; all of them had chakra receivers pierced into their bodies and the Rinnegan in their eye sockets. There was a subtle sense of hatred in their dead eyes leveled at her.

It was no surprise that Pain was here; after all, it was only a matter of time before her 'heresy' reached his ears. Behind the Paths of Pain was an angry mob of zealots silently glaring at them, waiting on the command of their 'god' to tear her apart. Her escort detail could effortlessly handle the mob should it come to a shooting match, but they were given explicit orders not to engage any civilians—not when this pretender was the real enemy here.

"I don't know who you are, or why you're here, but you're not welcome to this village anymore," said a Path that resembled a young man with short, spiky hair, "Get out, and take your heresies with you."

"The only heretic around these parts is a glorified puppet-master who is too cowardly to show his face to his own people," the Speaker responded, the venom subtle in her tone, "You call yourself a god, yet you need the help of six people to watch over your city. Are you truly omnipotent?"

"I need not explain myself to the leader of a worldwide gang of vigilantes, calling themselves Guardians," Pain shot back through his puppet, "You may have deceived these good people with your lies High Priestess, but the ones with me are truly faithful. They will not be moved by a word from your mouth."

There were cheers of affirmation among the mob surrounding the Speaker and her guards. Every one of them had looks of scorn for her, but she could tell the way they carried themselves that their faith was paper-thin. _All I need is to buy some more time, and the Cult of Pain will be destroyed_ , she thought to herself. "Vigilantes? Is that what we're called? I believe _you're_ the real vigilantes here." She raised her hand and stretched out her pointer finger. "You were the ones that overthrew Sanshōuo no Hanzo." She raised another finger. "You promised these people that their problems would be solved, but they have only compounded since you took power." One more finger. "And you bring in nine S-class nuke-nin that are free to run amok in the village. If anything _you're_ the vigilantes and we Guardians are just trying to offer them a better life."

This seemed to turn some people around, nodding at the truth to her words. Pain however, was unfazed. "At least as a god, I am still here. Your so-called Traveller is a myth. Nothing can compare to my power!"

"And how did you obtain that power?" snapped the Speaker, "Kill your best friends?"

Pain flinched. There were no words to describe his anger at this…upstart of a High Priestess. "And what of you?" he challenged, "You've done nothing but tell stories since you've come here!"

"You'd be surprised how significant stories are, especially when they speak of the past," the Speaker replied, "I trust you've heard the story I've told of the wheat and the weeds?"

"What of it?" Pain deadpanned.

The Speaker heaved a sigh before turning her attention to Pain. "Being an Uzumaki, I'm fairly certain you've heard the story of the Traveler at least once in your life; how it came, and ushered in a Golden Age for its followers?"

"That's the Traveler you speak of? That's a myth. And how did you know I'm an Uzumaki!?"

"Our intelligence network vast and powerful," explained the Speaker, "Just as we know enough about your operatives to kill many of them, so too do I know that your real name is Uzumaki Nagato, formerly of Uzushiogakure. And for the record, I can personally say that the Traveler is no myth; neither is the Darkness that defeated it. I know this, because…" she reached for her mask, and her hood, pulling both down to reveal long, blood-colored hair, pale skin, and pools of sapphire for eyes. "By all accounts, I should be dead."

Pain wore an expression of shock on his face; he'd never personally met this woman, but her reputation was enough for him to know _of_ her. "Uzumaki…Kushina. You've been dead since the Kyuubi attack."

"I'd have _remained_ dead, if not for the Traveler's power," answered Kushina, "And unlike these puppets you seem so proud of, I have regained my soul, and thus my memories."

"And how does your story relate to the Traveler of Light?"

Kushina settled down on her seat. "All these accounts of the Traveler, and nobody seems to have much knowledge about the Princess from Beyond the Stars. The only thing we _do_ know is that she loved the Traveler and the people under its protection, and they in turn came to love her back. I've asked the Traveler myself about the Princess, and received no answer; but I _did_ get a feeling of hurt and sadness upon mentioning her, mixed in with a sense of longing. Therefore, I've come to two possible scenarios." She lifted one finger. "One is that she'd died tragically, forever lost to the Darkness." She counted the second finger. "The other, more likely scenario is that for some strange reason, she'd betrayed the Traveler for the Darkness, leading to the defeat of the Guardians.

"As much as it made sense however, I found it hard to believe that the Princess would do such a thing, much less willingly. From what I could gather, she was one of, if not _the_ most devout follower of the Traveler…which makes me wonder as to what drove her to such a despicable act."

"And what were your thoughts on that matter?" Pain asked suspiciously, not taking his eyes off Kushina for a moment.

"I'd like to think that at some point, the wanderlust had finally caught up with the princess," answered a thoughtful Kushina, "She traveled far from her new home to explore the world; she probably saw and did things that made her question her faith. That's not to say that she didn't believe in the Traveler; I doubt her spiritual strength was weak if she was able to come in contact with it. I feel that distance was the issue there; because she was so far from her god, she could not even hear its command to wait and see. In the end, I think she originally had good intentions in her betrayal until it turned into something else entirely."

The Paths of Pain flexed his hands, a jutsu prepared to completely destroy the woman in an instant. "And yet, I doubt you told your story of the wheat and weeds simply to vocalize your thoughts on what happened long ago," he noted, the disbelief subtle in his tone.

"That's because it also applies to you, Nagato," explained Kushina, a firmer voice this time, "You've been going around harvesting the field, and yet you haven't bothered to separate the wheat from the weeds. In your tenure as leader of the Akatsuki, you've been killing more than your fair share of good people too…like you don't even care about peace, you just want to kill left and right. And if that's the case, what makes you different from that glorified terrorist, Shimura Danzo?"

"That man was an affront to our peaceful methods," Pain countered, "We were just about to make peace with Hanzo! We had an agreement, then we were betrayed! We had a right to revenge!"

"Your 'right' only entitled you to the death of Hanzo and Danzo!" Kushina snapped back, "Everyone else was just plain unnecessary…especially when not all of them supported his decision to turn on you."

"Enough! I will not discuss the details of Akatsuki with you any further!" Pain roared, his hands directed at Kushina. The villagers behind her stepped aside, as her Defender Titan escorts pulled off their cloaks, stepping in front of her. Both women threw their arms out, forming two overlapping bubbles of Void Light in sequence around them. "SHINRA TENSEI!"

Once Pain declared the name of his jutsu, a massive wave of chakra came crashing against the defenses erected in protection of Kushina. Both of them performed the daunting task of holding back the power of an almighty tsunami with the Ward of Dawn. Kushina watched, unperturbed as the wave of chakra splashed against the first layer of defense. As the first bubble burst, the wave began to wear away at the second; in response, both Titans summoned Machine Guns in their hands, ready to pepper all six Paths with high-caliber lead, starting with the first attacker.

Within seconds, the final burst burst, allowing the jutsu to come crashing towards all three Guardians. Before either Titan could pull the trigger, a new bubble formed around them, completely stopping the momentum of the chakra. Kushina smiled triumphantly under her mask. "It's here."

{Play: "Believer" by Imagine Dragons}

As the barrier dissipated, revealing Kushina and her guards in the smoke that remained, Pain wore an expression shock and disbelief on his face. "That was one of my more powerful jutsu, invented by the Rikudō Sennin himself," he noted, doing his best to mask the confusion in his voice, "It should have been more than enough to render all barriers useless. You must have done something to save yourselves."

"Not us," Kushina answered, further confusing Pain with a victorious half-smile on her face. As if to answer his next question, she wordlessly pointed up to the sky.

All six Paths of Pain and the surrounding mob slowly followed her finger upwards. What they saw was a titanic ball of white dominating the skyline, with the bottom cracked and crumbling away. There was nothing menacing about the sphere, barring its size; if anything, it gave off an aura of safety and understanding…as though it knew and forgave all sins.

"It's a fake!" Pain declared, "That's not a god! I _AM_ GOD!"

He raised his hands, prepared to unleash another Shinra Tensei. That train of thought came to an end when six Ghosts floated down from the sky, firing bright blue beams behind each Path. The mob watched as the Six Paths of Pain knelt to the ground, thrashing as their nerves fired up and their muscles spasmed in response. They reflexively reached for their heads, screaming in agony as their vocal cords once again found use after a long period of silence.

…

 _Pain!_

 _You made me a, you made me a believer! Believer!_

 _Pain!_

 _You break me down and build me up, believer! Believer!_

 _Pain!_

 _Oh let the bullets fly, oh let them rain!_

 _My life, my love, my drive, it came from…_

 _Pain!_

 _You made me a, you made me a believer! Believer!_

…

After several minutes of screaming, the Paths of Pain slumped into the floor, their bodies twitching as their muscles regained control. The six of them gradually stopped screaming, looking around in confusion—none of them had the Rinnegan anymore. "Where are we…?" asked the bearded Path.

"What happened?" asked the Path of Pain that Kushina spoke with.

"You've all been freed of enslavement as Paths of Pain," answered Kushina, gaining their attention as she replaced her mask and her hood, "In exchange, you have all become warriors of the Light. The six of you will have many questions, and I will share as many answers with you as I can…"

There was no longer any place for Nagato to hide. The resulting feedback from the loss of connection to his Paths had potentially debilitated him long enough for the Guardian fireteams she'd placed in the area to subdue him _and_ capture Konan as well. With the capture of their supposed leader, Akatsuki was almost thoroughly defeated. For all the suffering he'd caused, Kushina would've wanted to kill him, but she had a suspicion that the war with Akatsuki was far from over…in order to truly secure this world from the Darkness, she needed to find the man in the spiral mask _. If you weren't a believer before Nagato, you will be now,_ she thought to herself, _Your false Dawn has come to an end…after today, the Guardians and the Shinobi will stand together. We will fight for the bright future you wanted, and we will see to it that we are all united against the Darkness._

…

 _ **A/N: It really makes me wonder as to who really paid attention to certain details in Tsunade's recounting of the story enough to notice the mention of a 'princess from beyond the stars'...?**_

 _ **And wow, longest chapter I've done so far.**_

 _ **Sadly, everybody who was invited to come to this chapter to help out didn't show up as much as I'd like…something about not being as invested in the Destiny-verse, or being too busy with their own stuff, or both. This means that barring a few contributions here and there from a friend, I've done this solo—with no editing whatsoever. With any luck, this chapter will still be a good enough read for you loyal followers…and I hope I haven't disappointed.**_

 _ **Thus, I give a lot of props to both Soleneus and UnitedOsprey1991 for helping with this chapter…no matter how small or large the contribution. Do please check out their works.**_

 _ **That being said: review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

 _ **Vocabulary**_

 _ **Tobiuo—Iroha's surname, it means 'flying fish.'**_

 _ **Chāshūmen—ramen with barbecued pork topping (chāshū).**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Previous chapter**_

 _ **Ki-Man and Tam Bangata—Daft Punk**_

 _ **Current chapter**_

 _ **The story—the parable of Wheat and Tares, Matthew 13:24-30**_

 _ **The queen and horse exchange—Bleach**_

" _ **All work and No play makes Jack a dull boy,"—Famous lines from the Shining.**_


	21. Homecomings

_**A/N: A new chapter…probably the shortest I've done so far for this story. Anyway, it'll mostly be another chatty chapter, but I promise action in the next chapter or so. We'll delay a bit on the potential attack on Konoha, but suffice to say there will be more homecomings and reunions in the future.**_

 _ **In any case, do read and review, would you kindly? And keep it classy!**_

…

[Konohagakure no Sato Farmer's Market, morning]

It was a typical morning in the village, as business picked up in the Farmer's Market. Genin couriers running around to make their deliveries and complete their missions, while shinobi assigned to police duty kept their eyes out for trouble on the streets. However, that paled in comparison to the din of merchants trying to sell their wares to any chef wishing for the best ingredients. Sometimes however, someone at one of those restaurants would drop the ball on the one thing they were supposed to do before it even opened: to get those ingredients _very early_ in the morning.

This was the mission that Hanabi was currently running, while Yuri quietly guided her through the crowd: an Akimichi clansman had forgotten to turn on his alarm and overslept. Because of that, many of the freshest ingredients had already been bought out at the fish market. This meant that she had been tasked with going to the nearby creek, and catching as many carp as she could find to buy him time to restock on his supply. Luckily, the client still had a few fish in storage, but he still needed more to buy his stand more time before his regular suppliers arrived.

The only good thing about being heiress was that she was given more personal mentorship as opposed to being placed a normal team like Konohamaru. While it was lonelier, at least she had someone who was more invested in her education. _Still, would've been better if I didn't have to go this alone._

Hanabi was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a yelp, getting her attention. She looked down from the rooftops to see a crowd of people gathered around the main boulevard, staring and pointing at the main street. She could hear them murmuring and whispering to each other. _What the hell is going on?_

"Looks like it's finally on," supplied Yuri, hidden away in her pack.

"They're really doing this?" Hanabi asked, moving in closer for a better view, "What about the whole 'we're doing this in the dark' bit?"

"Not much a choice. We're all gonna have to stand together if we want to survive the Darkness…and that means making the Guardians come out in public."

"Do I have to do it too?" Hanabi wondered to herself, looking down at the street. She could see a line of Guardians filling up the boulevard. It was almost like a parade, with how the people just stood by, gawking in awe at the march. She saw a lot of Titans, striding with pride in their heavy armor. There were also a few Hunters, Warlocks, and the new Paladin class interspersed at the edges of the parade. She also saw that the ones leading the parade were none other than Naruto.

"Only if you want," Yuri answered, "You're not even dead yet, so you still have a choice in the matter."

As she leaped from building to building towards the Akimichi district, she got better views of the parade as she passed. She could see several Guardians operating vehicles; there were a lot of Sparrows, though she could make out several heavier vehicles moving in. This new one had a wide and blocky frame, was well-armored, and had a machine gun turret mounted at the back. Like the Sparrow, it hovered over the ground, but it was large enough to accommodate six people at once: the driver, four passengers, and someone to operate the turret. She'd heard rumor that there was an argument in the R&D Initiative over it, engineers still debating heatedly over whether to name it the 'Warthog' or 'Puma.'

Hanabi quickly followed the path the Guardians took. It only took her a few moments to realize that their destination was the Hokage Tower, where Naruto would very likely speak with Tsunade-sama about the upcoming war.

"But to be honest, I don't see what kind of help we can get from the Shinobi," Yuri sighed, "I mean, are they ready for the things we're going to share with them? And somewhat more importantly, is the heart of all Humanity open enough to accept the Traveler again after all these years?"

"You'll never know until you try," Hanabi replied, running across the rooftops to turn in the large bag of carp to the Akimichi restaurant owner. "I mean, I still have doubts about the whole thing with the Traveler myself. That's not to say that I don't believe in it and all; I'm just saying, we need to give it some time before we make a final judgment on the issue."

"And if they refuse our olive branch?"

"Nothing changes," Hanabi answered sharply, "We'll stay in the village and help defend it in the shadows. When the day comes that we have no choice but to come out of hiding, then there's nothing more to be said: we'll step out, and reveal ourselves to the world."

As she sped across the rooftops, she kept her focus on the task at hand. As much as she hated putting up with glorified chores, she still had to do them until she was ready for D- and C-ranked missions. The only saving grace for her situation was that unlike most other teams, the payment was a little better as it was still technically an apprenticeship. Still, she couldn't help but wish that she'd be able to get these low-level jobs done and over with so that she could _really_ sink her teeth into more serious work.

Using the tree-hopping technique, Hanabi made good haste towards the restaurant in spite of the extra weight she carried on her back. She'd managed to catch enough carp today that at the very least the chef would have about an hour-long buffer until the delivery for more fish came through. Until then, he still had plenty of items on the menu to satisfy his customers before they started leaving in disappointment, and she would be denied her pay— _especially_ if the fish spoiled by the time she got there.

In her rush to deliver her package, Hanabi failed to notice the feminine form watching her from above.

…

[Training Ground 12, Konoha]

Yūgao strolled through the forest, taking in the scenery and the light wind breezing through the trees as she toted a sword bag over her shoulder. She'd finished pouring a libation in honor of Hayate, as well as leaving some incense and flowers for him; now she was headed for her personal training ground. Ever since the Konoha Chūnin Exams, she'd been training hard in preparation to avenge his death at the hands of one of the Suna Shinobi.

For now, however, she had to put her revenge on hold: Tsunade-sama had made the announcement to prepare for war. The only problem was that she wasn't clear with whom; however, with Uzumaki Naruto's brazen return to the village, she feared that their enemy was the Guardians. Up until now, she hadn't thought much about them, barring the capabilities they'd shown during the Kirigakure Incident. And to think that the Guardians had come back from the grave was just mind-boggling in her eyes.

As she came to a stop in the clearing, Yūgao set her bogu down by a tree before pulling a broad-bladed bokken out of the long cloth bag. Even at its normal weight, the suburito was too heavy to be a practical weapon; however, what made this one special was that it had a metal core lined with adjustable gravity seals for kata training. It was fitted tightly into a solid oak sheath that was carved into a sword-shape around it. In the right hands, it was a deadly weapon as the ancient samurai named Musashi could attest.

Adjusting the amount of chakra she sent into the suburito, Yūgao felt the weight of the wooden sword gradually getting heavier before she settled on a weight she was satisfied with. After a few stretches, she began to run through her kata, one form at a time; once that was done, she had to do some drills before she could honestly call it a day.

"Your form's good," noted a voice hiding in the tree branches, momentarily startling Yūgao. She glanced upward to notice a figure literally looking down on her from a nearby branch. He wore a hooded cape and an advanced-looking helmet with a rebreather over the light armor that marked him as a scout. "Although, you're gonna have to do more than just impress people with your kata."

"I'll take that into consideration," she answered tersely, studying the newcomer carefully as she tightened the grip on her suburito, lowering the weight slightly, "So what brings a Guardian to see me?"

"Not much, really; parades aren't my sort of thing," replied the scout, "That, and I wanted to see someone I could relate to."

"How do you figure that?"

The scout reached out to the side to pick up a bokken, tossing it to the ground in front of Yūgao before lowering himself onto the ground. "I also like to let my sword do the talking," he stated matter-of-factly.

"So a sparring match?" she asked, picking up the sword.

The scout nodded, striding towards her confidently. There was something in his voice and his walk that seemed somewhat familiar to Yūgao as he came to a stop a few feet in front of her. "Yeah, but to be honest, there's also stuff our R&D guys wanted me to try out. See if it was worth using…don't worry though, it won't be lethal."

Shrugging her shoulders, Yūgao took the wooden sword in both hands before assuming chudan no kamae. "I've got no problem with that, but where's your sword?"

In answer to her question, the scout reached out to the sides, a pair of bokken made of some kind of heavy plastic materializing in his hands. One was a full-sized katana-type bokken, the other was a shorter wakizashi-type. The shorter blade was held in front of him, pointing at her while the katana was held closer to the pommel, and held over his shoulder. "A Nitō-ryū fighter?" she asked, almost surprised by the scout as he slightly tightened his stance, "You sure you got the dexterity for it?"

Yūgao had a feeling that he was smirking under his helmet at her. "Hey, you never know; I've had a bit of time since my first death to pick up on it. And since we Hunters like our knives, I figured I might as well get to know it even more."

With an amused sigh, Yūgao smiled back at her opponent. "Don't cry when I knock you on your ass."

The two of them stared each other down, waiting for each to make the first move.

…

[Elsewhere]

Nagato's vision cleared up as he studied his surroundings. The first thing he saw was a white ceiling, illuminated by sterile white lights. To his left, he noted an IV drip hanging by his head. As he tried to sit up, he noted resistance around his wrists, coupled with the clattering of metal chains against hollow metal pipes. He was handcuffed to both side rails of a hospital bed with a strange-looking device on each.

"I wouldn't try to escape," warned a voice in the room at the foot of his bed, "One word out of me, and the Titans outside will knock the door down. And since you're pretty much a prisoner here, their orders take precedence over mine; which means they'll make sure you're good and dead by any means necessary."

Straining his neck to look down at the foot of his bed, Nagato saw someone sitting in a chair, fiddling with some sort of clipboard made of light. He wore the white canvas coat of a doctor over a well-tailored black pinstripe suit. From what he could make out of his features, the doctor was roughly in his early- to mid-forties, with a build that implied he kept himself in good shape. His jet-black hair had a small patch of white as it covered almost half of his facial features. The part of the his face that he _could_ see had a darkened patch of skin grafted over his left eye.

"Where…?"

"You're in the Nami Tower," answered the doctor, his eyes focused on the clipboard, "The main headquarters for the Shinobi Nations' Guardians. And you've been treated so that the Speaker can have a word with you."

"The Speaker?" Nagato parroted, memories of the woman flashing through his mind. He recalled how after the Traveler had appeared, six little machines floated down from the sky. The last thing he remembered was a surge of pain rushing into his head before he blacked out.

"She's never been seen outside the Ocean Tower until she decided to take matters into her own hands with you," the doctor explained, continuing to ignore Nagato in favor of his clipboard, "Given what I've heard about the return of the Darkness and all, this is the last place she should be. But she's dead-set on speaking with you personally, so who'm I to stop her?"

Nagato glared at the doctor, focusing chakra into his Rinnegan.

"I'm no shinobi, but if you're trying to use a jutsu, then give it up," noted the doctor, after trying fruitlessly to channel any chakra, "R&D's been working on a lot of things, including a chakra nullifier for highly dangerous nuke-nin like yourself."

After he was finished with whatever he was doing on his clipboard, the doctor turned to face Nagato with a scrutinizing glare. "Trust me, it's better this way," he groused, "Of all my patients, you were bar none one of the most difficult. It was already a pain to pull out all the spikes in your back. And on top of that, I had to deal with your malnourished body; you haven't had much to eat or drink, and the problem was made even worse with how quickly you burnt yourself out on constant jutsu usage. Honestly, it's a miracle you're still alive."

Nagato heaved a sigh of resignation. He'd lost, it was simple as that…besides, the doctor bartered no compromise when it came to the health of his patients. _It's_ always _the doctor,_ he thought to himself.

"How is he looking, Hazama-sensei?" asked a feminine voice in the doorway. It was hard to forget that voice, especially considering the encounter he had with its owner. The Speaker walked into the room with an escort of two heavily-armed and armored Guardians flanking her.

"If you're talking about a full recovery, then he's got a long road ahead of him," explained Dr. Hazama, "But he IS lucid enough for the two of you to have words. Looks like the R&D's really pulled through; that Medi-Gel stuff really closed up his wounds. I still trust my scalpels and sutures though."

"As always, you're the best at what you do," she answered gratefully. As she walked closer, the Speaker pulled up a seat next to Nagato. Her guards stood at the foot of his bed, no doubt ready to massacre him for the slightest misbehavior.

"I'll leave you to it," dismissed Dr. Hazama, bowing respectfully before exiting.

There was a tense atmosphere between the two of them, as Nagato and the Speaker stared at each other silently. "Where is Konan?" he finally asked, breaking the silence.

"She's recovering in the ward next to yours," Kushina answered tersely, "After you blacked out, I had a team of Guardians en route to capture you both alive. She's recovering, so no need to worry there."

Nagato sighed in relief, before turning to regard the Speaker. "What happened?"

"The Traveler sent out Ghosts to raise your Paths of Pain from the dead," she explained, "In more recent years, the Guardians of old have found a way to restore a soul, thus giving Guardians their memories back. For some reason however, something messed with the resurrection process, and pretty much wiped those Guardians' memories. I'm guessing it's because of those piercings you put into their bodies. Now, because they have to rediscover who they are, they will no longer be the people you knew."

Nagato widened his eyes, his mouth agog. This meant that all the memories Yahiko had shared with him and Konan were lost forever, and he was to blame. Still, it was a chance to start over and forge new bonds with him.

"I'm not gonna lie, it looks _really_ bad on you," said the Speaker, "All the things you've done to try and make peace in the world, and all you've done is plunge it further into war. I want to kill you for everything that you've done; but as it stands, we're in a tight spot. The Darkness has returned, and it's gotten to the point where we have to work with men like Shimura Danzo if we want to survive the coming night."

"And what would you ask of me?" Nagato asked.

"I want to know about the _real_ leader of Akatsuki," answered Kushina, earning a shocked expression from Nagato, "What, you didn't think I'd figure out that you're just his puppet? I want to know what he's planning, and why he's doing all this. He's a loose end that really needs to be taken care of; permanently, if necessary."

"Will there be peace if I tell you what I know?"

"I can't promise you peace," answered Kushina honestly.

"Then what's the point if I tell you?"

Even though she wore her mask, Nagato could feel her fixing him with a glare. "You don't seem to understand why I'm asking, so I'm going to make it clear for you: The Darkness is returning, and it's corrupted Uchiha Sayuri to be its herald. From what I understand, she has cursed many of our Guardians into betraying us. As it stands, we _cannot_ afford to have our attention split between the masked man and the Darkness…so the sooner we deal with this problem, the better off we'll be when the war comes in full."

Nagato took a moment to ponder a future with the Darkness's victory—and felt fear for the first time. "For the record, we never promised peace; just a better future for the next generation, where humanity is strong enough to push the Darkness out of our home. With any luck, we'll be able to experience yet another Golden Age in this lifetime…where we can tell tales of victory over the unknown. Help us out, and we'll take you to see the Traveler again…so that you can find the Light once again."

…

[Hive Battlecruiser _King of Tyrants_ ]

Smoke clouded the screen as Sayuri took in the burning remains of the base from the bridge of her newly-christened Hive battlecruiser, the _King of Tyrants_. She enjoyed the spectacle that her ship was capable of unleashing in the moment it was summoned into the world. All of this began with a shot from her ship's main gun, tearing a hole through the base for her forces to take prisoners. She particularly enjoyed the light show of Void lasers strobing around, killing the guards with pinpoint precision. Then there was also the look of horror on the faces of stragglers as they tried to outrun Seeker pulses, which promptly blew them to bits.

Orochimaru wasn't there, which was a shame…what they _did_ find were survivors of his experiments. If they went back to their homes, they'd be pariahs; but to her, they would be _very_ useful. A number of them were more cooperative, gleefully taking her orders to kill fellow prisoners that resisted. _I guess payback against the snake himself is as good a motivation as any,_ she thought.

"You were never like this," stated a voice next to Sayuri. The person in question was a red-haired girl with glasses, currently on her knees. A Knight stood gently on her calves, preventing her from escaping; he had a Cleaver in both hands, prepared to execute her on command.

"True, but then you'd notice, wouldn't you Karin-chan?" she asked, not taking her attention away from the carnage below.

"You were so much better than this," Karin rebuked, pleaded almost.

" _This_ is better," Sayuri corrected her.

"No it isn't," she spat, turning to glare at Sayuri, " _Better_ is coming out of a situation stronger than before. It's _being_ a better person than you were before. _This_ is anything but better."

"And I suppose I'd have done better in the Light?" Sayuri asked, finally turning her attention to Karin, "Oh yes, I know about the Light…and I've learned to savor its taste. And to be honest, yours tastes the best so far; I haven't tasted Light like this since I ran into _him_."

"You're not the girl I knew," Karin shot back, "The Sayuri I knew was sad, but at least there was hope for her to find redemption. Now? You're pure evil."

Sayuri cackled wickedly. As her laughter settled down, she regarded Karin with a sharp-toothed grin. "The Sayuri you knew was a weak little bitch. Me? There's no such thing as good and evil—I guess I'm addicted to power."

"This won't end well for you; we've picked up on the Guardians' transmissions for a while now. They know about you, and they're making an alliance with the Shinobi to fight back."

"Good," Sayuri drawled, confusing Karin with an amused half-smile, "That just means more Light to eat, and more power in my hands. After all, why _serve_ a god of darkness, when you can _be_ the goddess instead?"

Karin was horrified at her admission, hands covering an agape mouth. The addition of the bridge crew's bewilderment at her admission only added to the high Sayuri was feeling. "You're crazy," she whispered, her voice gradually becoming louder with anger, "You've gone drunk on power!"

"Maybe," Sayuri taunted, "But when given this much, who _could_ stay sober?"

There was a moment of silence as Karin stared in disbelief at Sayuri. "When the Beasts of Darkness invade Heaven, the divine sentry shall sound his horn; the gods will weep, for the war at the end of days has come," she began to recite, "Such is the magnitude of the conflict that the king of Heaven shall call forth the spirits of slain warriors to do battle with the Beasts of Darkness. Nobody shall escape the fires of the war; there will be no mercy, nor will there be peace. The gods shall fight and die in the war with the Beasts and their herald, until only the last man and woman in the world survive to repopulate it."

"A sad tale for sure, but what does that have to do with me?" Sayuri asked sarcastically.

"With your appearance, Uzumaki Naruto sounded the horn, oh herald of Darkness," Karin explained, "Eventually, this war will be so big that your gods will _have_ to get their hands dirty. And when they learn of your ambition, you can bet that they will do everything in their power to stop you."

Sayuri snorted. "Let them try. I'll just eat them both, and take their divine power for myself." She then turned her attention to the knight pinning Karin down. "Take her to my chambers, I'll deal with her myself at a later occasion; until then, nobody is to touch her"

"Yes, milady," the Knight answered, forcing Karin onto her feet.

"One more thing," Karin said as they turned to leave; in response, Sayuri raised her hand, silently ordering the Knight to stand by. "The divine sentry and the herald of Darkness? They both killed each other in battle."

Satisfied, Sayuri waved her hand away. As the Knight forced Karin into her chambers, she pondered the story. _Maybe we_ will _end up killing each other,_ she thought to herself, _Or perhaps we'll be the last ones standing…_

…

[Training Ground 12]

Yūgao and the Guardian sparred with each other, the sound of their training blades striking each other filled the air while also taking the opportunity to land empty-handed blows. As the fight went on, she began to notice details in the way her opponent fought. For example, the Hunter's footwork implied that he was more familiar with ittō-ryu. His movements were a little too clumsy for the amount of dexterity that nitō-ryu demanded. Still, he showed that at the very least, he was capable of utilizing tantōjutsu in tandem with ittō-ryu, if only to help him parry.

However, clumsy as his fighting style was, she noted that it was somehow familiar to her. Throughout the fight, he'd been aiming for her weak spots, as if he knew her very well. But, given the difficulty of nitō-ryu and the rarity of its practitioners, she failed to place this person in her past. That, and what the Hunter lacked in familiarity with his discipline, he compensated with his ability to capitalize on openings. Sometimes, he would parry away her sword strikes with his wakizashi, before following through with a riposte with his katana; other times, he would try to knock away her sword with the wakizashi, and then moving in for the kill.

She saw her opening: swinging her bokken upwards, Yūgao knocked her opponent's wakizashi out of his hand. In the same movement, she brought her blade down for a quick cut only for the Hunter to parry with his own bokken and kick her away in the abdomen.

Staring down at her sparring partner, Yūgao panted wearily. Her opponent didn't seem winded at all, as he shouldered his blade while looking back at her through his goggles; waiting for her to catch her breath. "You seem a little tired, don't you think you should rest a bit?" he asked.

"What, and you're not?" asked Yūgao in between breaths.

"We Guardians are already dead, so we don't really need the basic stuff humans take for granted," explained the Hunter, "All we need is the Light."

"And the 'Light' is…?"

"It's too hard to explain, so lemme give you the rundown," replied the Hunter, "The Light is energy that we Guardians need to stay alive, and powers our abilities. Without it, we'd still be dead. Just like everything has chakra, every living thing in this world has the Light within them. It's just that for some reason, unless you're a Guardian or been touched by the Light, you can't use it."

"Sounds mysterious," commented Yūgao thoughtfully.

The Hunter snorted. "You really ought to run into the Traveler then. We don't know where it came from, or why; just that it chose humanity to be its agents."

It was hard to understand what the Hunter meant by that, but Yūgao felt that she would see soon enough.

"Ready to continue?" asked the Hunter.

Yūgao smirked, resuming the chudan no kamae. "Ready and willing."

She could feel the amused grin under the Hunter's helmet as he pulled something out from his satchel. "Then let's end this in one more attack."

The Hunter tossed two walnut-sized balls into the air , each with a glowing white stripe across their circumference. They both hovered in the air, stripes glowing brighter by the second before the flash vanished, leaving behind two clones of the Hunter. "Let me tell ya, these may not be actual Kage Bunshin, but they'll do the job," said one of the Hunters.

"But don't underestimate me," added another of the Hunters, "I used to be a shinobi too, so there's no guarantees."

"There's really nothing to it: two of us are fakes," finished the last one, "The only question is, which of us is it?"

Yūgao looked at the three clones. With the clearance between them and the Guardian's muscle memory, he had multiple chances to play kendama with her. Nevertheless, she tightened her stance and prepared for whatever he had in store for her.

The Hunter and his duplicates tightened their grip on their bokken, sprinted towards the ANBU operative. As they neared her, Yūgao noted that the three of them approaching to hide their movements by swerving in and out of her field of vision. Once they came within a few feet of her, the Hunter and his clones split up; two copies went for her flanks, while the last leaped high into the air. The aerial attacker brought his bokken down on her shoulder while the other two went for her core from the front and back. As she recognized the jutsu, she understood the identity of the Guardian, moving to block the bokken from the aerial attacker. On contact, her sword passed through the bokken; at the same time, she felt something hitting her from behind.

"Mikazuki no Mai," she noted, smiling in realization, "A totally different way of using it; creative too. You wanna take your mask off for me?"

There was a long silence, the sword placed on her back stilling. She turned around and watched the Guardian with hope as he shifted his sword to his back. As he pulled down the hood of his cape, his helmet faded away, revealing a face that she'd recognize anywhere. He'd changed, looking healthier than before, but this was still her Gekko Hayate. "Long time no see, Yūgao-chan."

Yūgao's eyes watered, her grip on the bokken loosening slightly…before slapping him with her free hand. "What kept you?" she asked angrily.

"A lot of work out in the world," Hayate answered, "Trying to make a better future for everyone."

"And you didn't think to come see me?"

"I came by whenever I could," he stated, "And trust me, I wanted to hold you in my arms again. It's just that I was told to go incognito…to help make the world stable again, and to make it strong. I wanted that future for the two of us so badly that I was willing to do that for you."

Yūgao huffed, turning away from Hayate. She didn't want him to see her tears falling. "I've missed you"

She dimly felt her partner's arms reaching around her waist. "Well we're here now, Yūgao-chan…and this time, we're not going anywhere. I'm only sorry that it's a situation like this that brought us back together."

The clearing was silent as Hayate and Yūgao sat in the training ground, taking in the calming sounds of nature.

…

[Hokage Tower]

After the Guardian parade that happened two days ago, things had quickly progressed. Talks were made to reintegrate the Guardians back into the armed forces. To further cooperation between them and the shinobi, concessions were made, which included sharing intelligence. Another included training shinobi in the use of the Guardians' advanced arsenal and tactics.

To help the Guardians and the Shinobi get accustomed to each other, a Guardian or two was to be assigned to a Shinobi team. The mission they were given was a sort of trial run to test the concept out, before more Guardians could be handed assignments to teams to try and integrate them back. However, they weren't the only ones to be given Guardian support for the mission; the other teams of the Konoha 12 were each assigned a Guardian for a better testing pool.

"How much longer are they gonna make us wait?" asked Tenten, frustrated by the absence of their assigned Guardian. "I don't think the mission's going to wait!"

"What could be so important that they'd just stand us up?" Neji added, nodding in agreement.

"Yosh! I'm going to Hokage-sama's office to find out who is assigned to us!" Lee declared, rushing back into the building.

"Give it some time, team," Gai chided, grabbing Lee by the shoulder, "They may not have received their orders yet and…"

Before he could say anything else, Gai suddenly raised a hand for silence. As Tenten focused her ears she could hear a low drone that gradually became louder. One of the boxy vehicles from the parade to moved in from the left, coming to a slow stop in front of them. The machine lowered itself to the ground, allowing Tenten a better look; it had four windowed doors on the sides, as well as a small tower with a weapon at the back. One of the doors opened, revealing Naruto at the controls. "Hey guys," he greeted.

"Are you the Guardian assigned to us?" she asked.

"You got it," Naruto answered sheepishly, "Sorry I was late, people just kept asking me for rides along the way."

"And what is this?" asked Gai, gazing at the thing in some amazement.

"This is a 'truck,'" explained the blond, "It's sorta like a wagon. New anti-gravity technology means it moves faster and is a smoother ride."

"And _why_ are you bringing this thing along?" Neji inquired, eyeing it skeptically.

"I've been told to test-drive this thing for R they want to see how well it does off-road and long-distance," answered Naruto, "And since we're going to the border of Kaze no Kuni for this mission, I figured, why the hell not? Kills two birds with one stone."

There was a moment of awkward silence between them. Naruto broke the silence. "So…you guys wanna come in?"

…

 _ **A/N: My apologies…I would've submitted this three days ago in celebration for the release of "Destiny 2," hence why it's rather short. Still, at least it got done.**_

 _ **I give credit to NorthSouthGorem, Soleneus, and UnitedOsprey1991 for their assist and setting me straight…and of course serving as shouting boards for ideas. Give them all a round of applause, and do please check out their works.**_

 _ **NS: More importantly, how about credit for slimming down your stilted-ass writing, ya nag?**_

 _ **Kuro: Then stop taking a year before finishing a beta.**_

 _ **NS: Then make your writing less densely dry.**_

 _ **Kuro: Okay, fine, you win…my writing's bad…ha-ha. {Sighs} Anyway, to avoid a long-drawn out confrontation I am obviously too inarticulate to win, do please check them all out and keep your reviews classy, would you kindly?**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **The Engineers' Argument—This is the famous Warthog or Puma argument from Red Vs. Blue, the very same argument that started the company.**_

 _ **Dr. Hazama—Dr. Black Jack, probably the best doctor in the history of anime and or manga.**_

 _ **Medi-Gel—Mass Effect's all-healing medigel.**_

 _ **Karin's story—the Ragnarok**_


	22. Research and Development

_**A/N: Sorry for the delay. You can blame the Iron Banner, and working multiple stories at once for this. In any case, this may seem rushed, but this is because I wanted to submit this so much.**_

 _ **Anyway, do read and review, would you kindly? And do keep it classy.**_

…

[Harugakure]

Daimyo Koyuki waited at the empty train station with two of her own personal guard. A few days ago, she'd received a letter to come on over to the train station at around this hour. The next arrival was in a few minutes, which meant that her guest was coming in shortly in his personal train.

"Are you sure about this milady?" asked a kunoichi.

"We'll have to wait and see if it was worth it," answered Koyuki, nevertheless checking her watch periodically. She was due for another public appearance in a few hours, for a statement about the rise in Guardian activity.

After their announcement to the public and their revelation of a massive war to come sometime in the future, things had become hectic to say the least. Especially since it was revealed that many of them had been assigned to their home countries to bolster the defenses. This meant that Koyuki probably knew the people that she was about to meet. _The only question is,_ who _are they?_

The train had arrived, slowing to a stop in front of her with pressurized steam hissing from the machinery. It looked like an extremely advanced model, with a smooth, tapered front end and an overall tubular profile. The thing was built for speed, which begged the question as to how fast it could go.

Koyuki watched as the doors opened with a pneumatic hiss, allowing three figures to step out of the threshold. The first to come out was a tall, well-built man in sleek, white armor. As his head was bare of a helmet, she could make out the features of a man nearing his fifties and still going strong. He had piercing, deep blue eyes that seemed to stare deep into the soul, and his black hair was contrasted with patches of silver on his sideburns. The biggest thing she noticed about him however, was the strip of metal on the upper-right corner of his face.

His two companions were both female, one taller than the other, but both wore leather greatcoats like the Knight of Snow. Neither wore a helmet, exposing stark white hair and aquamarine eyes. From their facial features, she could tell that they were both sisters, with smooth skin. The older sister stood at attention, her hair done up in a bun and secured with chopsticks. Seemingly magnetized to her back was a large sword with a knuckle guard and intricate inlays on the blade. Her stance indicated that she'd served time with the armed forces, potentially even former ANBU.

The younger sister seemed a little more nervous, but hid it under a veneer of regality befitting a princess. Like her sister, the younger girl's hair was done up in a bun, except that it cascaded down her back like a white curtain. Holstered at the right side of her hip was a smaller weapon that looked like it was covered with what looked like platinum in several places, with a multi-colored cylinder. She didn't carry herself like a soldier like her sister did, more like a warrior and an adventurer.

"Daimyo Kazahana I presume?" The Titan asked, his deep baritone rich with experience.

"I am," Koyuki answered, "On the behalf of Harugakure no Sato, I'd like to welcome you back, mister…?"

"Tetsuki," answered the giant, "I was once daishōgun around these parts."

Koyuki widened her eyes in shock. _Everybody_ in Yukigakure knew of Daishōgun Tetsuki, one of the finest generals ever known in the early days of the shinobi, and a pioneer of the Kugutsu no Jutsu. It was said that in addition to his gift in tactics, he was also an adept strategist, commanding human troops and massive numbers of puppets in the defense of Yukigakure. He died in a last stand against a legion of shinobi bandits, but not before whittling down the enemy force until there were only a handful left for his vengeful soldiers to finish off.

Outside of war however, Tetsuki was known to have encouraged Yukigakure's industrial revolution, laying the foundation for its technological advancements long after his death. During his tenure as the de-facto Daimyo of Yukigakure, one of the more notable projects he'd commissioned was the railway system; it was intended for moving troops and supplies, but it also served the civilian infrastructure quite well. He'd even had the first steam-powered trains constructed, kicking off an era where Yukigakure would become quite possibly the most technologically-advanced village in the world. That title now apparently went to the Guardian's main headquarters somewhere in the ocean.

"And who are your companions?" Koyuki asked, looking on in curiosity at the two Warlocks.

"Shiroyuki Fuyu, second-in-command to Tetsuki-daishō," answered the taller Warlock, "With me is my younger sister Shiroyuki Akiko."

Another ancient name that Koyuki knew of. The Shiroyuki family had a mixed reputation in the village; big industrialists that aided Tetsuki's ambitions of propelling Yukigakure into the future. The founder of the family, Shiroyuki Daiba worked a coal mine in addition to his time as an ashigaru, eventually becoming a wealthy businessman and philanthropist. He was commissioned by Tetsuki to build the railway system, which helped the profits for his company.

Sadly, the Shiroyuki elder became ill from working too hard, and from long-term exposure to coal dust. His son-in-law Yukio took the reins and drove the Shiroyuki name through the mud with countless human -and worker- rights violations in the name of profit. Yukio's eldest daughter was the first to try cleaning up the family's reputation by joining Yukigakure's armed forces. Yukio would put the kibosh on her plans to redeem the family by naming Akiko the heiress for a time. After Akiko herself decided to rebel against her father, the youngest son Shirotake was named the heir in her place.

Shirotake was even worse than his father, and his policies were far more ruthless, to the point that he'd successfully and legally cut out the rest of the family from the will. His not-so-veiled contempt of the military and Tetsuki upon his death precipitated an eventual revolt that finally destroyed the Shiroyuki Coal Company. Koyuki's ancestors were involved in that revolt, having been part of the army, and having no small modicum of respect for the Daishōgun Tetsuki and the Shiroyuki elder.

"What brings you back?" Koyuki asked, still awestruck by the people she was speaking with.

"We've come to reinforce Yukigakure," answered Tetsuki, "And to make her strong for the times to come. To that end, I've returned with some Guardians, and technology from my branch of the Guardian R&D."

Whatever thoughts Koyuki had on mind had ground to a halt as she watched the train cars opening allow Guardians of every class to walk out. Their helmets were exposed, enabling them to see their homeland once more. She also noted more than a few people in canvas jackets walking out of the cars.

The middle cars opened to reveal racks loaded with sleek, humanoid puppets. Their metal bodies were built to resemble a set of old-fashioned o-yoroi, and each carried what looked like a highly-advanced crossbow in their hands. For some reason however, their gauntlets were slightly more pronounced than the rest of the armor, favoring a more skeletal frame. "My new army of puppets," explained Tetsuki, "They will be at the forefront of our defense forces. If you will allow me, I will train certain shinobi in the art of kugutsu no jutsu."

Koyuki thought of the former daimyo's offer. Overall, it was too good an opportunity to pass up; especially considering the fact that even though they'd made progress, Harugakure's defense forces were still quite weak. _Best not look a gift horse in the mouth_. "Welcome back, Tetsuki-sama," she said with a sincere smile.

"Please, no need for formalities," replied Tetsuki, "My time as daishōgun has long passed; it's time for the future to take precedence. And right now, there's only one thing I want to know: what are my orders?"

…

[Hokage Tower]

"So…wanna come in?"

Gai turned to his entire team, looking for their opinions.

"I'll go with him," answered Tenten, "I wanna see what it's like in there."

"I'll have a seat myself." added Neji.

"Yosh! Then I'll race you to the borderlands!" Lee declared.

"I'll follow Lee in this case," finished Gai, "I want see just how fast that thing can go."

Naruto wore a skeptical expression on his face. "You're sure about this?" he asked, "I'm not even sure you can match this thing's top speed."

"I don't believe a machine can beat what years of hard work can already do," Lee argued.

"Well, I guess now's a good time to really put this thing through its paces," Naruto answered, nodding in acceptance. He then turned his attention to Tenten and Neji, "If you guys wanna come on in, please close the door behind you." He turned back to Lee and Gai. "As for you two, why don't we start at the gates and meet at the midpoint?"

Lee had a confident smirk on his face. "Challenge accepted."

As Gai and his younger clone walked ahead, Naruto watched as Tenten and Neji entered the vehicle, closing the doors behind them as they settled into firmly-cushioned seats covered in fabric. The interior of the vehicle was small, metal, and boxy, but still had enough room to move comfortably. Naruto on the other hand, sat in a seat behind a wheel, with some sort of radio in the space between him and Tenten.

"Ryūsei, buckle them up," he said to nobody in particular.

"Sure thing," replied a disembodied voice in the vehicle. Before Tenten and Neji could say anything in protest, a strong cloth strap automatically pulled under their arms. A weighted metal item clicked in place over their laps.

"Sorry about that," said Naruto, answering their silent question. "It's so that in case we crash into anything, we won't go flying out the window."

The machine roared to life as Naruto pressed a button near the wheel in front of him. After pulling a series of levers, he slowly controlled it through the crowd, taking care to not hit any passersby. Still, it was hard not to notice the the gawking of the civilians as they passed by the market. Tenten thought she could hear people wondering if they could get one of these 'trucks' for themselves.

After more than ten minutes on the streets, the group made it to the gates. The guards posted at the station watched in wide-eyed wonder as the truck pulled up next to them. "Naruto, been a while," greeted one guard, "And I'm assuming that Team Gai's with you?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered, "In fact, on the way to the mission, we're gonna be putting this thing to the test; see how fast it can really go as a scout vehicle."

The other guard whistled. "Man, this thing looks sweet. Wish I could ride in it."

"Actually, this bad boy's designed specifically for Guardian use," explained Naruto, "Don't worry though, I hear that our R&D's trying to make a model that can be used by normal shinobi too."

"Now _that's_ something to look forward to, Kōtetsu," noted one Guard.

"Oh yeah, I can see it now," answered Kōtetsu, a thoughtful expression on his face, "Anyway, you guys take care now."

"Either of you mind starting this race?" Naruto asked.

"Sure," answered Izumo, "Why not?"

Naruto nodded before pulling the truck a small distance away from the gates. Lee and Gai stood slipped into a running stance, prepared to speed away on foot. The three racers waited for Izumo to stand a reasonable distance between them before turning around. He looked between Gai and Lee on one side, and Naruto with his truck on the other.

"Racers ready?" Izumo asked,raising his arms.

The tension could be felt in the air as all three racers waited in anticipation for the race to start.

After a few tense seconds, Izumo let out a resounding "go!" Tenten and Neji watched as Lee and Gai sprinted away, a trail of dust kicked up in hopes of making for the midpoint on foot. In response, Naruto quickly pressed his foot down on something in front of him. The passengers could feel the adrenaline rush in their bodies as they moved fast enough to chase after the clone duo; the force of the machine traveling at high speeds to catch up with the clone duo pressed against their chests.

"Now then, let's put on a little music…" said Naruto, pressing a button on the center console.

{Play: "Black Betty" by "Spiderbait"}

Blaring music issuing forth from the radio as guitar strings began to fill the air. Satisfied with his choice in music, Naruto resumed control of the vehicle, focusing the path ahead. The course was easy enough; the road they were using would take them towards their destination, which was an old fortress in the borderlands.

Tenten and Neji watched the race unfold before their very eyes, as Naruto made quick turns on the road. From time to time, they could see him periodically glancing to the side, keeping his eye on Gai and Lee to ensure that they weren't passing him. The clone duo were making good progress trying to keep up, as they were neck in neck with Naruto.

Within two hours, the race had come to a halt, as the competitors had arrived at the midway point. Naruto opened the door to the truck, stretching his back with a satisfying crack, before opening the other doors. Tenten and Neji stepped out of the vehicle, with vastly different reactions to the ride; Neji slumped out, muttering thanks that the ride had stopped. Tenten on the other hand sauntered with a very excited grin on her face, uttering a light 'let's do it again' as she fell on her back.

Lee and Gai came tearing into the clearing just a few seconds later, panting from exhaustion.

"Yosh! We kept up!" Lee announced between breaths, his legs unsteady.

Gai on the other hand, bent over to support himself on his knees. "By kami, I need a rest! How can such a large thing be so fast?!"

"Well, look on the bright side," Naruto acknowledged, "At least you guys just showed up the engineers. They're gonna have a field day when they hear that the new vehicle they cooked up for everybody to use just got beaten in a race by two shinobi on foot."

Both Team Gai and their assigned Guardian settled down. As the shinobi cooled off on water kept in their storage scrolls, Naruto sat against the truck with many little items and tools in front of him, laid out on a cloth mat. There were several springs of varying sizes, along with other very small parts, separated from larger white, grey, and blue pieces next to a lacquered wooden box. The most eye-catching part of the whole set was the slim, hollow block with what looked like nine small brass darts with copper heads placed next to it.

"So, you got the specifics on our mission?" asked Tenten.

"Quite a bit," answered Naruto, taking a small bottle to cover a small cloth with its contents, "Apparently, a bandit army has taken over the entire area, conducting extremely well-organized raids on both sides of the border. Several Shinobi teams had gone to take them out, only to never come back. The fact that the bandits were mostly composed of nuke-nin doesn't help matters any."

"What are the objectives?" Neji queried.

"Simple: go in, kill the bandits, and secure the location for a Guardian team to move in and fortify it some more," Naruto replied, his hands at work cleaning every part of the weapon, "The reason we're trying to take over these places is threefold. The first was that they would be serving as listening posts, keeping their ears open for any movement in the wilderness; if Sayuri and her rogue Guardians were to make a move, then they'll be the first to know. After that, the message would be sent to all other locations so we can respond.

"Second, we can use them as safe houses. In addition to giving our scouts places to rest up, they'll do well in taking people in; plus it's easy to defend this place. We've taken into consideration that some villages will not make it out of the war intact; so we're really preparing for every scenario we can think of."

"And what's the third reason?" asked Lee, taking another swig of water.

As he spoke, Naruto took out a small brush to begin cleaning the interior of a small metal tube that seemed to fit the little darts. "We can use them for live fire training courses. That way, the locations we hold can have a security detail 24/7 while giving everyone a chance to sharpen their skills. From what I hear, special training weapons will be made for the Shinobi when they enter the arena."

Gai looked at Naruto with no small amount of curiosity. "What's this I hear about an arena and training weapons for Shinobi?"

"We're looking to bring the Shinobi into a sort of competition called the Crucible," explained Naruto, inspecting all the springs before laying them back down on the mat, "It's kinda like the Chūnin Exams, only smaller-scale and they happen on an almost daily basis. Of course one big change will be that we won't be using live weapons anymore; it wouldn't do us any good if we lose good shinobi in training exercises. We're planning to teach the shinobi to use our weapons, and more advanced tactics to go with them."

The very thought of trying out Guardian weapons had Tenten salivating. She'd witnessed the effectiveness of those weapons during the Chūnin Exams in Sunagakure, but the chance to try them out made her heart race. "How soon are we gonna be doing that?"

Her answer came when Naruto began to pick up the pieces he'd cleaned up, and putting them all together. First came the springs, which were locked into place before all the smaller pieces were fitted to them. Next came the larger pieces, before the nine darts were loaded into the slender box and fitted quickly into the handle. Once Naruto was done assembling the pieces back together, he aimed the weapon at an imaginary point between Lee and Neji. She could only widen her eyes in surprise at the fact that the whole process took no more than ten seconds.

"Pretty soon, I imagine," Naruto noted, before putting the weapon back in the box, "Keep in mind though, guns take a bit of time and maintenance to make sure they're working right. That will all be covered once the smiths finish work on your service weapons. But for now, I'm pretty sure you guys can borrow from my arsenal."

There was no end to the giddiness Tenten felt when she heard that. "I can't wait."

"Well then rest up," Naruto replied, "Once we're done with the mission, I'm pretty sure the Crucible handler will want us to fight it out there." As he placed the wooden box in the back of the truck, he turned his attention Gai and Lee. "If you two want to hop in now, I'm pretty sure there's still room for you in the truck. If not, then I'll wait for you to recover before we continue on to the target location."

…

[Somewhere in Kaze no Kuni]

Naia yawned as she strolled through the dunes of Kaze no Kuni with Tayuya in tow. Strangely enough for an albino, the head scientist walked around without her helmet on. In life, she avoided sunlight like the plague; now that she was a Guardian, she no longer had anything to fear from the sun. "The hell're we doing out here?" groused the redhead, spitting sand from her mouth.

"We're taking a break," Naia answered simply, "We've been cooped up in the Vault for too long; it's time to start getting some fresh air, and maybe find some inspiration out here. Plus, I've received a note from one of the scientists under my command that he had something for me to see."

Tayuya quirked an eyebrow, at the somewhat casual way Naia spoke. "What sorta shit was he working on?"

"I gave him the job of finding a way to nonlethally capture and detain the Vampires," explained Naia.

"Vampires?" asked Tayuya, "Are you fucking serious?"

Naia sighed in exasperation. "Look, it's just until we find a better name for those Guardians that've been turned. Besides, it pretty much sums up what they have to do to survive now…only difference is that they drain the Light from their victims."

The duo continued up a high sand dune, climbing to its peak. They looked down to see someone busy with a few things scattered about, while inspecting what looked like a Linear Fusion Rifle. As Naia and Tayuya neared the lone individual, they had a better look at him. Unlike most scientists, this person was dressed in loose, baggy clothes; strange for someone that worked in the Vault as much as he did. Neither could sense much of the Light in him, which indicated that he was a normal human being.

"'bout time you got your pale ass out here, boss," said the scientist, his attention still on the fusion rifle, "I was wondering if you'd be interested at all."

"Abraham, you know I always have time to look at your new prototypes," Naia countered.

"Funny you'd mention time…" he said, his smiling thinning, "See, I've been brainstorming, like I do, on how to put those vamps on ice, as it were." He paused. "Well, obviously not _literally_ on ice, because that'd just be a huge resource drain no matter how you slice it. Anyway, my idea is that, rather than physically stop them, we just lock them into a particular segment of time, prevent them from moving a significant distance. Once we've got that, we can easily digitize the space they're occupying and put 'em in storage." He spread his hands. "Simple, no?" he asked, smirking in a way that showed that he knew it wasn't.

Naia nodded in amused disbelief at the scientist's rambling. "Only you…" she would have said more if she hadn't remembered that Tayuya was with her, "Ah yes, Tayuya, I'd like for you to meet Dr. Abraham Fabriek, the infamous prototype-master of the Infinity Vault. Brilliant enough to come up with a lot of new and interesting designs to try out, but too lazy to find a way to perfect said ideas."

"Lies," he snapped irritably, "I'm always up for improving my tech. And it's not like you don't take my first drafts and run with 'em just fine anyway!"

Naia shrugged before looking at her employee more seriously. "All right then, let's see what you've got."

"I've got some working prototypes on me right now," answered the scientist, "But first, we're hunting for the vamps."

"Are you shitting me?" Tayuya asked in outrage, "We go out to test your shit, and you're skipping all the way to the real thing?!"

"Yeah, we are. Got a problem with that?" Abraham challenged, grinning with a sinister edge, "If so, please save your criticism for after the testing has concluded."

Before Tayuya could say anything else, Naia coughed into her hand. "So we have to go hunting for our demonstration, that just makes things a little more interesting."

"Yeah, well, this ain't the Crucible and last I checked, you aren't Ikora Rey," grunted Dr. Fabriek, "These are rogue Guardians we're going after; they're gonna be hungry and desperate as hell for Light. So you're going to have to get serious in case something goes wrong."

Naia said nothing, instead summoning a scout rifle in her hands, and a sidearm at the small of her back. As she hazarded a glance at her erstwhile boss's weapons, Tayuya noted that her sidearm was of a different make from the usual. Both had a sleek appearance, with bulbous protrusions at the sides, a very distinctive red and white paint job, and unknown characters printed on them. "Who made those guns?"

"An old company called Suros," explained Naia, "With more lost engrams being found by the day, we're getting a lot of the old manufacturers' stuff to use and reverse-engineer. We've already rediscovered all the brands, but I _really_ like the stuff from Suros and Veist."

Tayuya readied an auto rifle and sidearm combination for close-quarters work. "Yeah, I'll be fine with our own shit, thank you very much."

The travel through the dunes was silent as the three members of R&D kept their eyes open for the corrupted Guardians. Naia had modified her scout rifle to use a fairly powerful scope to search the desert for targets. At the same time, Tayuya kept her eyes trained on the ground to make sure nobody was hiding under the dunes. Abraham however, kept his hands on his linear fusion rifle, while keeping watch over a little device in the offhand, another of his prototypes that beeped.

"So, brainstorming, eh?" asked Tayuya, "Any of that Vex shit working wonders for you?"

"Like you wouldn't believe," he replied instantly and unhelpfully.

"I dunno, with all that reality-warping tech, shit's liable to go wrong," she answered, unsure about the issue, "I mean, you heard of what the Vex were doing in the old Vault of Glass, right? Metal-headed fuck-faces were trying to make weapons that could just erase people from reality; heard they were getting pretty damn close too. Then there's also the rumors I keep hearing of scientists disappearing or going batshit while being close to certain bits of Vex tech for too long. Come to think of it, how do I know _you're_ not crazy as fuck too?"

He gave her a sidelong look. "First of all, just because something can go wrong doesn't mean we shouldn't try to get it right. Second, you don't, and frankly, your foul mouth is disabusing me of the inclination to try and convince you of my sanity, or lack thereof. Either trust me to do my goddamn job or don't. Either way, I'm going to continue."

Whatever words Tayuya had in retort were cut off due to a pain she felt in her chest. _Ah, fuck no_ , she thought, pulling out an auto-injector from the breast pocket of her trench coat. As her hand trembled, she quickly jabbed the needle into her thigh, feeling the pain and tremors slowly leaving her.

"The medicine working?" asked Naia, looking at her with concern.

"I think you got it right there, boss," answered Tayuya, "I don't feel any pain. Easy to use too."

"Well don't get your hopes up," Naia cautioned, turning her attention back to her scope, "We both know this is just to buy us some time. Besides, this is a trial run; whether we've succeeded or not depends on how long until the medicine wears off. Ideally, it'd last at least four hours; but if it wears off in an hour, then at least we're on the right track."

"I've got the stopwatch going," added Abraham, his attention still on his smaller prototype, "Just let me know when it's starting to hurt like hell, sailor-mouth."

Tayuya took a moment to glare at Abraham, before muttering something under her breath and keeping her sights back on her auto rifle. The beeping sound from the new prototype began to intensify in his hands. "Well look at what we've got here, ladies," he crowed, pocketing his prototype, " _Targets."_

"Where are they?" asked Naia, looking around cautiously through her scout rifle's scope.

Her answer came in the form of a hand bursting from the sand to grab her by the ankle. Naia kicked away the hand, switching to her sidearm as she retreated. As she held the trigger, the handgun began to spray bullets in the general direction of her assailant, who vanished quickly in a burst of Arc Light.

"Scatter!" Naia called out.

Tayuya and Abraham dove for cover, watching as the attacker landed in a bestial stance. The hood they wore identified the 'vampire' as a Hunter-class Guardian, and the shape underneath the skin-tight bodysuit was feminine with very slight curves. In terms of facial features, the former Guardian had a somewhat starved and haggard appearance; it was one that Tayuya recognized. "Ahh, fuck," she muttered, "That's the first Guardian I attacked."

"Miyabi, how good to see you again," Naia quipped "Iroha's been worried about you, so why don't you go back to her?"

The creature that was once Miyabi let out a high-pitched screech, summoning more vampires from the sand. There was a variety of former Guardians in the crowd, all of whom shared the same gaunt appearance. Naia could make out a very powerful hunger in their eyes as they stared back at the trio.

Taking a deep breath, Fabriek unslung the prototype gun, fashioned largely like a linear fusion rifle, but with inner mechanisms that Tayuya couldn't even begin to guess at. "Stand clear," he grunted, as the gun powered up with deep warble.

He pulled the trigger, and a black and purple beam lanced out, sand swirling beneath it, towards Miyabi. It struck her, momentarily blurring her and giving her a gray-violet hue. She pounced, only to flicker and return to where she'd started.

"So far, so good," he commented, lifting the gun away. As he fired into the sky, a dark vortex opened in the air, swallowing the beam. Several more portals opened up over all the other vampires, more beams spearing out of them to strike them in the back, locking them into their own time-loops.

"The hell was that?!" Tayuya shouted.

"Just a little trick only I can do," Abraham replied nonchalantly, "Pretty useful when we're in a situation like just now."

"Impressive," Naia noted, lowering her machine pistol, "By the way, how's the gun working?"

"Works pretty good," Fabriek answered, "By my estimation, you can probably fire a good seven shots from full charge. That's one thing that needs to improve. Another would be to cut down the charge time from three seconds. More on that later, but first, we've got another bit of tech to try out…" Abraham tossed Tayuya the fusion rifle. "Keep an eye on them will ya? I don't know how long the loop will last."

As Tayuya kept her eyes open on the other vampires, Fabriek reached into a pouch on his belt to pull out something that fit over his hand. On the palm was some kind of circular device that was connected to a miniature disk drive on the back of his hand. The whole assembly was bare-bones; Tayuya could see the exposed wires lacing through the framework of the glove.

"Now then, let's see if the digitizer works…" he muttered under his breath, fiddling with buttons on the rim. The machine hummed and whirred to life as he opened his palm in front of Miyabi. The palm-mounted device emitted a harmless red light that scanned its target before firing a laser at the former Guardian, engulfing her in a baby-blue light. Miyabi dissipated into glowing embers that were absorbed into the palm-mounted device.

Once the last particle was absorbed, Abraham turned his attention to the device on the back of his hand, as a small stick flipped up.

"Uh, what the fuck happened?" asked Tayuya, looking on in confusion.

"I turned her into data, and stored her on this little drive here," answered the scientist, pulling out the stick, before inserting a new one. From what she could tell, this 'drive' was about the size of a thumb. "This thing's small, but it's got enough space to hold an entire, digitized person, Guardian or otherwise."

Tayuya scratched her head. "Basically, we can put them into a computer now," Naia clarified, "All we need now is one with a big enough storage space to hold all these Guardians we just digitized."

"With any luck, we can streamline this to make this faster," Abraham added, digitizing the next vampire, "Ten seconds is really pushing on time here. That, and we've got to increase the storage so that we can catch more Guardians before…" A strange crackle broke the silence of the desert ambience, followed by the sound of fallen Guardians shrieking in anger. "Ah, damn it, looks like I've got to fix the loop duration too!"

Tayuya took aim with the prototype weapon, firing the linear fusion rifle at full charge; several vampires were frozen in a line before she kicked several of them off her. As she did, Fabriek went to work digitizing the rogue Guardians she'd frozen, opening portals behind them and reaching his hand out to them. At the same time, Naia used her machine pistol to kneecap the attackers, leaving them all easy prey for Fabriek to digitize them.

"Looks like this thing still works like a fusion rifle!" she shouted, firing another laser bolt at another line of vampires.

"Yeah, but there's problems with that!" Fabriek added casually, digitizing that line of rogue Guardians and quickly replacing the data drives, "First thing I'm gonna do when I get back to the lab is to find another platform to make it from!"

"Suck on this!" Naia added, kneecapping a vampire with her pistol before kicking him into Tayuya's line of fire. The Warlock was hit with another penetrating beam from the Linear Fusion Rifle, being stuck in a perpetual spin after being kicked. Several vampires were also hit behind him, twitching in their motions as they tried to break free of the loop.

Relieved that the threat was over, Naia let out a calming sigh. "Looks like it's all good so far, takes quite a load off my shoulders." She then turned her attention to Fabriek, who was taking notes on something. "All right then, what's the damage for this project?"

"We're looking at about 50,000 units of Glimmer total for a working version of everything," answered Fabriek, still stribbling on his notepad, "And I'll be needing the Coldheart and Prometheus Lens."

Naia stared at the scientist, her incredulous expression already silently saying 'you've got to be kidding me.' "…Depends on what you'll be needing them for," she said apprehensively, "The engrams for those blueprints were really hard to find and it was expensive as hell to make them both. How'd you find out about them anyway?"

He shrugged. "Same way I keep on top of everything else you lot get up to."

Naia pinched the bridge of her nose. "You sure you're gonna need both of my Trace Rifles for this?"

"Linear Fusion Rifle is not a good platform to start this off from," Abraham explained, "If I'm gonna use something as a base, it'll need to be something more precise. Besides, I can think of nothing better for keeping a target in a time loop than a continuous beam." He offered his hand to shake. "So, do we have a deal?"

Naia sighed in resignation. "One condition, if I lend them to you'd better return them in one piece. Break either of them, and you'd better have a way to replace them."

"Ah, don't worry your pale ass, boss; I always make sure there's not a single piece missing."

"Then you've got yourself a deal." Naia responded, taking the hand and shaking.

…

[Walls of Konoha]

Regulus watched as the frames he had on loan from Tetsuki reinforced the walls of his hometown with some of Tazuna's men directing them. Pretty soon, they'd be adding 40mm anti-aircraft batteries, guns he'd read were installed on old aircraft carriers before technology marched on. This on top of the hidden turrets that were being installed into surface of the walls themselves.

"Gotta hand it to the old Americans, these turrets were pretty good for their day. Adapting it from single barrels to quad barrels," Regulus muttered.

"What's that?" a ninja asked, astonished at the amount of ordinance being mounted on the walls.

"Something to shoot down anything that's gonna try and fly into the village," Regulus answered, "That's only one of the defenses we're gonna install along the perimeter. We've also got to make sure that our enemies don't try to storm the walls."

"How do we do that without hurting our allies?"

"We can sense the Light in all things," explained the Titan Vanguard, "It exists in everything, at least in trace amounts; much like Chakra, except the Light is effectively your soul. I'm guessing, if our enemies show up, they'd pretty much be soulless abominations."

"So what does that mean for us?" asked the ninja.

"Given the enemy we're going to face, we'd be less likely to shoot you if we can sense your Light," Regulus simplified, "And trust me, you'll be glad that we can."

As the Konoha Shinobi left, Regulus turned his attention to the PDA in his hand with footage from an overhead camera drone, inspecting the progress on the defensive installations on the project. Small dots represented construction frames being guided by Tazuna's workers towards various tasks. Most notable of them all being the many frames that were scattered around the area, burying anti-tank landmines and quite a few Bouncing Betties. Those would serve as the first line of defense, in the event the Hive decided to storm the walls; the anti-tank mines being powerful enough to at least cripple, if not kill an Ogre. The Bouncing Betties however, were filled to the brim with 10mm high-explosive ball bearings for dealing with massive waves of Thrall. All this was assuming they weren't teleported into the village via Tombships.

A cursory glance at the areas near the walls revealed that they were missing essential ground-level defenses. "Magha, we need people on the ground to protect the workers. And where the hell are those machine gun and mortar shipments?"

His Ghost appeared by his shoulder. It had a bronze lion motif welded seamlessly on its shell, its fangs opening over its core. "I believe the Blood Gulch Squadron took them," it answered, its female voice having an Irish accent.

"Those idiots?" Regulus asked incredulously, "All they do is stand around and talk! One can't hit the broadside of a barn, another wants a Sniper Rifle like it was the Holy Grail. Then there's the sex fiend who can't go two minutes without a pun. And that's just the Blue team! Red Team has an authority complex! There's a guy who thinks the Blue team should die and then there's that lazy ass, and those are just the six longest-tenured!"

"What about their leaders?" Magha asked.

The Titan Vanguard looked at Magha with an 'are you kidding me?' expression on his face. "Wash and Carolina? _They're_ the only reason I won't send them to the Box Canyon outpost, filling out paperwork 24/7! And don't even get me started on their support teams!"

The bronze Ghost sighed in exasperation. "Well, they _do_ have the best mission accomplishment record for their division."

"Unfortunately!" Regulus barked, "And let's not forget AH13! They can't follow a simple instruction from their designated leader! I heard about that mission to hunt down Akasuna no Sasori! Viking nearly caused Edgar to go on a killing spree, and then Frado went ballistic on everyone!"

"Good news is that they completed it in the end," Magha reminded, her shell rotating slightly.

"Yeah, thanks to Ursa, of all people!" Regulus retorted, before pinching the bridge of his nose, "Anyway, do we still have _any_ good news?"

"Team Juniper and Team Ruby are back from their expedition," Magha listed out, blinking in thought, "They managed to clear out several camps and found two more possible Guardian candidates. Also helped secure a couple of routes for weapons delivery."

"Speaking of which, how goes the delivery on the new service weapons for the Shinobi?" Regulus queried, remembering another issue on his to-do list.

"The crates of Scout Rifles, Submachine Guns, Shotguns, and Sidearms have touched down, but landed in the wrong place," answered Magha, "Ruby and Juniper were nearby, and have managed to procure a few trucks to transport them. They're on their way now."

"Thank god. Those two teams have been nothing but a ray of sunshine in this squadron!"

*BOOM!*

The resulting explosion caught everyone off-guard. Regulus though, had a visible twitch on his face. _Oh, I know who did that…_ he thought, simmering in anger.

"Tucker did it!"

"Grrrr…RED TEAM! BLUE TEAM! WHEN I GET DONE WITH YOU, YOUR GONNA HAVE SO MUCH PAPERWORK, IT WILL FILL UP BOX CANYON!"

With his tirade over, Regulus turned to regard Magha desperation clear on his face. "Do we _at least_ have the samples yet!?" he pleaded, hoping for more good news.

"Well, you're in luck, the download is finished," answered Magha, "You thinking of doing the demonstration now?"

"Might as well," he sighed, walking through the crowd. Regulus found himself in the grounds near the Shi no Mori, watching as shinobi and kunoichi trained for the upcoming war. Many of them sparred with each other, both in taijutsu and bukijutsu. Others were in the middle of target practice, both with throwing implements and jutsu.

With everyone busy in their training, Regulus immediately began to set up a folding table. After showing Tsunade and the other shinobi old videos of the Hive in action, a training regimen was put in place to counter their large numbers. For close-quarters action, an emphasis was placed on minimizing energy expenditure while still dealing enough damage to put down large numbers of Thrall. Urban Combat tactics were also being taught in the event shinobi teams were to run into the more serious threats; specifically on flanking tactics to counter Acolytes and Knights, as well as focusing their attention on Ogres and Wizards.

As far as jutsu training was concerned, many ninjutsu specialists were told to focus more on mass-damage jutsu, as well as healing skills to support the close-quarters fighters. Genjutsu specialists such as Kurenai on the other hand, would aid in counter-offensives to help drive the Hive out of Konoha. Still, nobody ignored target practice as they focused on headshots with shuriken and kunai to help put down more targets faster.

"Everyone! I've got a demonstration for you!" Regulus announced, getting everyone's attention. Magha hovered by his shoulder, focusing her light on the tabletop. The spotlight brightened, nearby shinobi and kunoichi walked closer for a better look as the weapons began to materialize on the tabletop. The first weapon of notice seemed to be more futuristic, its long frame almost skeletal, with a pistol grip. It loaded its ammunition from the front, and mounted a 4x scope on top, with a telescoping stock. The barrel shroud also mounted a picatinny rail for extra accessories, as well as a bayonet lug.

The second weapon was a handgun with a nickel-plated finish, and walnut grips. Set down next to it was a magazine with seven rounds loaded. On the frame right below the recoil spring were picatinny rails filed in to allow a laser sight to be mounted. It was heavy for a sidearm, but it was a choice everybody respected.

Next up was a weapon that looked like it came from the minds at the old VEIST manufacturing. It was almost completely made of polymers, and it fired smaller rounds than the ones chambered for the sidearm. The thing that made this weapon unique was that it was top-loaded, with the rounds dropping down from the stock. It also came with its own reflex scope.

Last was a shotgun that was between the size of the polymer SMG and the telescoping rifle. It looked extremely bulky with obvious way to load the gun being from below. Unlike most shotguns, it replaced the pump with an extended magazine tube. It had a textured grip, and a clip near the ejector that enabled it to quickly load another shell in a pinch.

"Alright, now I know you ninja have the skills and the strengths to take on the Darkness to come. But without the right gear, you may as well be Academy students taking on a Kage."

"What are these weapons?" One of the Kunoichi asked.

"Glad you asked. These babies are called guns, one of the most effective weapons to ever be designed. These things make kunai and shuriken look like paperweights!" He hefted his revolver for everyone to see. "Most Guardians eventually gain access to their own customized tech. Trouble is, we currently don't have enough resources to allow for everyone to have that, but what we _do_ have is enough to give you a fighting chance."

He holstered the his revolver to pick up the Scout Rifle. "This bad boy is gonna be your standard on-foot weapon in the field until we get you a better service rifle. In the meantime, meet the M14 Battle Rifle, made with lightweight aluminum and fiberglass furniture, as well as steel parts. Really light, easy to field-strip, and with match-grade mechanisms to ensure a fast and smooth action. Twenty shots, highly accurate; it's also semi-automatic, meaning one shot…" Regulus quickly turned around, and fired a single shot at a distant target, punching a single hole in the bullseye. "…one kill. And if you're dealing with multiple targets, it'll fire as fast as you can pull the trigger." In demonstration, he quickly pulled the trigger three times, the rounds piercing the target in a tight grouping.

"And in case things get too close for comfort, you've got yourself a little sidearm," Regulus continued, setting the M14 aside for the handgun, "If the rifle's your sword, then this would be your dagger. M1911-style handgun, fires 11.43 mm ammunition; you've got seven shots plus an extra one in the chamber to really put the hurting on anything that gets too close. Small enough that you can carry it in a holster, but big enough to serve _as_ your main weapon if you're in need of a lighter loadout. Like the M14, it's semi-auto, meaning it'll fire as fast as you can pull the trigger, and it's modified to be double-action to make things easier on you." He then sighted a new target, emptying the entire magazine into the bull's eye.

Setting down the handgun, Regulus moved towards the polymer weapon. "Now we get into the more advanced stuff. This thing looks small, but don't be fooled; it really packs a punch. Fifty armor-piercing 5.7mm rounds, with the ability to either fire in full-auto or in semi. Barring the steel firing mechanisms, it's made of very strong polymers, so it's also very light; plus it's ambidextrous, with all spent casings falling from below the stock. Firing semi-auto should be self-explanatory; it's when you fire it full-auto that things get interesting…" Turning to sight the next target, Regulus pulled the trigger, firing a sustained stream of rounds for a good three seconds, chewing a large hole in the paper. "Thanks to the full-auto mechanism, the gun will keep firing for as long as you hold the trigger or until the clip empties"

"Okay then, now that we've got precision out of the way, let's introduce you people to some power," Regulus announced, picking up the shotgun, "Now normally, shotguns like these would load six, maybe eight of these…" he drawled, picking up a shotgun shell to show the audience, "But not only is this shotgun semi-automatic, but it's customized specifically to fire upwards of eleven shells." As he spoke, he began loading the shotgun from the bottom. "But that's not the only thing that it's got; it can load a variety of rounds for different jobs. For our purposes however, this shotgun's loaded with normal double-ought buckshot rounds, which are meant for balanced performance against deer and human-sized targets. Each of these shotgun shells carries nine fairly large pellets which are fired in a volley, and tears a really big hole in the target with every shot. However, the catch is that this is a close-quarters weapon, making it ideal for when you're engaging targets indoors; still, you can't deny the amount of power it's got." Once he'd finished loading the shotgun, Regulus took aim at a line of water jugs. With every shot he'd fired, the jugs exploded in a splash of water before he emptied the rest of the magazines in distant targets.

"…and these are just the samples we've managed to download and show you people today," he finished, setting down the shotgun, "When we've dealt with logistics, and punished a few thieving idiots, we'll see to it that you all get enough guns to help defend the village. Any questions?"

"When are we getting these things?" asked a kunoichi, her mouth almost watering at the demonstration.

"A shipment's already en-route," answered Regulus, as the weapons slowly dissolved, "We should be expecting them within a few days. But don't worry, there's more to come for you and the other nations to help fight against the Darkness."

…

[The border between Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni]

Naruto looked through his binoculars, surveying the land they were about to enter. The bandit base was an old hunting lodge located in the middle of a valley that bordered between Hi no Kuni and Kaze no Kuni. The valley itself was divided in half by a river that ran through the mountains, the lush green forests of Hi no Kuni on one side, and the harsh sand dunes of Kaze no Kuni on the other. Connecting both sides of the river were three bridges, two that curved in towards one side mirroring each other, with the Northern one curving west towards Hi no Kuni and the Southern one curving east towards Kaze no Kuni. The sand dunes had old decaying trees, the remnants of an old civilization that collapsed once desertification set in. The mountains kept the sands from spreading, just as they kept the trees from growing. On each side were three sets of wooden towers spread equally along the plateaus. In short, it was the perfect battle field.

Closing in on the towers, Naruto was able to make out the Guards' defenses. "What do you see?" asked Tenten.

"The towers have got a great line of sight," he answered, continuing to look through the binoculars, "They're also rocking big, crossbows up there. I also see a lot of guards patrolling the grounds; whoever these guys are, they're organized and funded enough to start their own village."

Tenten grabbed the binoculars to have a look herself. "If these are what I think they are, these are anti-personnel ballistae. They look hand-cranked, so they'll probably have a decent rate of fire and accuracy, especially given the height advantage they've got. Even worse is that there's only nine guard towers, which means they're gonna know we're here one way or another."

"We should proceed cautiously," Neji suggested, his Byakugan active, "I've been watching the patrol patterns overlap as they pass each other; both for quick response, and to add an extra pair of eyes. Add the turrets, and we won't be sneaking anywhere; at worst, they'll send the entirety of their forces after us. There has to be a way to…" Neji hitched a breath before turning to Naruto. "You remember that time in the Ma no Sabaku, when you were using those scoped weapons on us?"

"The sniper rifle?" Naruto asked, wondering where he was going, "I can summon it whenever I need it. Why?"

"How far can you shoot with them?" queried the Hyūga prodigy.

"It depends on the one I'm using, but suffice to say they can hit pretty far," answered the team's resident Guardian.

"We're going to need that advantage," Neji explained, turning his attention back to the valley, "You're going to take care of the guards in the turrets, give us the opportunity to sneak in. And while you're at it, you're going to want to take out as many patrol leaders as you can."

"If that's the case, then I'm gonna need Neji with me," replied Naruto, summoning a large rifle in his hands, "I hate to admit it, but I suck at long-distance combat; flying and close-quarters are more my thing. So I'll be needing a spotter to help me find the targets while I'm using the scope." At this point, he'd summoned a long, black cylinder in the offhand. A wicked grin was on his face as he screwed it on the muzzle of the rifle. "Plus, it's a perfect opportunity to try out more stuff R&D's cooked up…"

…

[Hive Battlecruiser _King of Tyrants_ ]

Karin was thrown into a room by her gigantic escort. The Knight stood in the doorway, his cleaver held in a menacing grip, as though to silently discourage her from leaving. From the pitting in his chitinous, dirty yellow, armor, as well as the deep rent across his eye, she knew this one led the charge in the base. He wasn't the only one though, as his identical twin brother 'Morgul' took half the invading force with him and split up. She'd heard he was called 'Morgoth' from the chatter she'd heard; he was the one who almost killed Suigetsu in a sword fight and hacked off Jūgo's arm.

"Leave, and I will know, human," the creature bit out, through exposed teeth. His ancient voice sounded like stones being ground together, before he disappeared in a burst of green flames. In his place was a large, organic-looking wall.

The interior of the chamber was wide and cavernous, much of it made of stone and an organic, bone-like material, the sound of water dripping nearby echoing down the halls. Everything was lit with eerie green flames, as well as the odd glowing crystal formation sprouting from the floor. It gave Karin the impression that this was more a tomb or a temple dedicated to an evil god than a proper warship.

In the immediate vicinity, she could make out a large, pot sitting over a green fire, with a dais nearby. On it, she also noted a podium standing close to the cauldron, with what she identified as a book She could also see a bed with frames made from the same bony organic material that lined the walls of the ship, and a mattress that looked like it was made to fit. _Am I in a witch's bedroom?_ she mused to herself.

"Now then, what to do with you…?" drawled a voice in the doorway. Karin didn't need to turn around to know exactly who was behind her. Her eyes could trace Sayuri's curves as she sauntered in front of her. If the Uchiha heiress knew she was naked, she did very little to acknowledge that fact. The predatory grin on her face promised no shortage of pain for Karin.

"What's the matter? See something you don't like?" taunted the Uchiha demoness, squeezing her D-cups together as she craned in on Karin.

"Kill me or let me go," Karin snapped, averting her gaze, "Just don't waste your time talking to me."

"Well that wouldn't be fun now would it?" Sayuri teased, walking in circles around Karin, "There are so many things on my mind for your ultimate fate, and I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. On the one hand, I could simply perform experiments on you of a scientific nature; on the other, I could be a little more…intimate."

Karin looked at Sayuri as though she'd grown another head. "The funny thing with the Hive is that they're all born as Thralls: blind, bony, shrieking, solely female creatures with nothing on their minds but killing and eating. It's only after they gain sapience that they evolve into Acolytes, and earn the ability to change their genders at will. When I allowed myself to be Taken by the abyss, I somehow gained Hive DNA."

"And you want to see if you've inherited that ability?" Karin spat.

Sayuri widened her grin, caressing Karin's cheek with the back of her fingers. "Oh you have no idea how much I want to. But I suppose Orochimaru also had a point; when it comes to pleasure, sometimes there are things that somehow manage beat out sex."

"Torture?"

"If I get bored enough, then yes," Sayuri admitted easily, "Either way, this is something that I feel is best enjoyed with a personal touch; something I just can't trust a Wizard with. Though I still wonder what will happen if you drink the…soup in the cauldron over there."

Karin had no idea what was in the pot, and she had no intention of finding out. She had a bad feeling every time she glanced at it. "On the other hand," Sayuri continued, "I _could_ just try to satisfy my more primal and sinful cravings with you and _then_ some real experimentation. You're not the one I love, but what's the harm with a little fling?"

As Sayuri gently pulled Karin's face in for a kiss, the girl in question pulled out a kunai from her sleeve. The tip as leveled in the valley between Sayuri's D-sized mounds, stopping her as she felt it pricking her chest. "And what makes you think you're gonna get that far?"

The Uchiha girl snorted, releasing her hold on Karin's face to take three paces back. "Of course I'm not, she will."

Before Karin could throw the kunai into Sayuri's chest, she felt an arm snake under her armpit from behind, and reach up to grab her chin. Within seconds, another hand grabbed her by the wrist holding the kunai, forcing her to let go of the weapon with a firm twist. Throughout it all, she could feel the resistance from a firm pair of D-cups on her upper-back.

"You've been a very naughty girl, Karin-chan," whispered Sayuri's voice from behind, her sultry voice grazing against her ear, "You've been such a bad, _bad_ girl…"

Forcing herself to look behind, Karin found herself looking into another pair of hollow black eyes. Standing behind her was another Sayuri with a predatory smirk on her face. She wasn't alone however, as more duplicates began to reveal themselves from the columns in the room. A quick headcount told the bespectacled redhead that she was surrounded by no less than thirteen other girls. All of them with hungry looks on their faces.

"In case you're wondering, this is no mere Bunshin," explained the Sayuri in front, as she resumed circling around her, "That's real flesh and blood you're feeling━ _my_ flesh and blood. She was made from an experimental spell using the black soup in the cauldron and a few drops of my blood; and apparently, she's pretty much gained everything from me. So I tried the spell over and over again, and pretty much found myself with a harem of twelve exact duplicates that are somewhat weaker than me. Great for elite soldiers, and as vessels for reincarnation."

Whatever Karin had to say was cut off when one of the Sayuri clones planted a kiss in her mouth, the copy's forceful tongue controlling hers. The others looked on hungrily as their sister continued her assault. By the time the kiss was broken, she was so flustered that there were no words in her mouth for what had happened. "What do you want us to do with her, onēchan?" she asked, her voice husky with promiscuity.

"Have fun," Sayuri answered, "But not too much fun; I want her alive and in one piece to do more things to her later."

The apparent leader of the clones grinned widely, tossing Karin onto the bed. Seeing their opportunity, the twelve clones pounced, kissing and sucking every bit of exposed flesh they could find. At the same time, their hands clawed at her clothes, ripping and tearing until much of her pale flesh was exposed. It was during the commotion that her C-cups were liberated from a lacy white bra, shortly before being fondled on one side, and the other having a mouth over her nipple. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Sayuri standing by, watching in lurid fascination as her 'sisters' mercilessly assaulted her senses.

"Don't tell me you haven't had wet dreams of this," Sayuri announced, settling down in front of a column well within view of Karin, "I've known you were in the closet for quite some time now. I think deep down, you've always wanted to come out to me from the day we first met. I suppose I'm honored that you loved me at all. Sadly for you, my curiosity has won out in the end."

Unable to say anything in response, Karin did her best to fight her way out of the writhing mass of warm, cloned female flesh she was buried under. "So, as my sisters have their way with you, I'll be watching as you're drowned in lust and pure Darkness," Sayuri added, one hand on the junction between her legs and the other squeezing a breast, "They'll pull out every little bit of Light from your body while reducing your mind to mush. And once they've had their fill, _then_ I'll decide what I'm going to do with you next."

As she found herself lost in the mass of writhing bodies, Karin could only manage one last thought. _Not like this…_

…

[Staging Area, nightfall]

The moon glistened in the sky as the watchtowers stood vigil over the valley, spotlights blaring light in eight directions. Lee and Tenten waited at ground level with Gai, watching as the guards patrolled the entire area from a bush. They were waiting for Naruto and Neji to give the signal to move, and were told to watch out for the guard towers. In addition, they kept their eyes open for an opening in the patrols.

"This is Maito Gai, Bravo Team is standing by," said the jōnin, pressing the button on his throat mic.

" _Roger that,"_ Naruto answered, " _Time to start open season."_

As Tenten looked through the binoculars she borrowed from Naruto, she kept her eye on the first wave of guard towers. Her impatience reached a crescendo before a loud 'pop' in the distance broke her concentration. The nearest guard in the first tower in front of her died, his head exploding in a pink mist before his body slumped to the ground. Within twenty seconds, the second tower guard died in the same way, as did the third; the fourth kill was scored on the guard in one of the more distant towers.

" _Reloading,"_ Naruto announced.

"Gai-sensei!" Lee whispered, bringing everyone's attention to the patrol they were watching. The twelve-man patrol squad had stopped in front of the first tower Naruto shot at, and missing a guard. After a few seconds, the missing trooper ran back down the watchtower, frantically waving his arms. The leading guard pressed a buttons on his headsets, before running off with the rest of his patrol. The guards in the towers focused their ballistas on the area behind them.

Knowing what was going on, Gai reached for the PTT button on his throat mic. "Looks like you two have their attention now. Try to keep up the pressure, and be careful."

"Roger that, Gai-sensei," answered Neji, "But before we get into close-quarters combat, we'll pick off as many of the other ballista operators as we can. You hurry on to the objective, and we'll try to catch up."

" _And don't you worry about him,"_ added Naruto, " _I'll see to it that he gets out in one piece."_

Gai turned to regard the remainder of his team. "We're on our own for now. While Neji and Naruto are busy with the watchtowers, we need to move carefully if we're going to complete the mission."

Lee and Tenten nodded, huffing in affirmation. The three shinobi moved through the cover of bushes and trees. Once in a while, they watched the result of Naruto using his weapon to take out the tower guards in one shot. Luckily for them, he'd already taken care of the last of the guards on the forest side, shortly before the rattle of a different weapon could be heard in the distance.

Several times they had to hide whenever they saw bandits running past them. As they closed in on the small fortress, the remainder of Team Gai watched the perimeter. Only a few guards remained, patrolling the entire area; like their fellows, they were too organized to be mere bandits. Their posture was rigid, like a professional soldier that had the discipline beaten into them 24/7; hands clenched onto spears, ready to impale targets. They were also supported by longbowmen on the eaves.

Before they could begin to move, they received a signal on their throat mic. " _This is Naruto, Neji and I have managed to fight off a lot of the bandits,"_ came the voice of Naruto, the subtle hint of the 'truck' being driven in the background, " _There's probably a few scouts heading back your way for reinforcements, so you'd better hurry up."_

"Roger that, we'll make this quick," Gai answered.

" _Also, I've just received word that another Shinobi-Guardian team is in the area, coming from the Kaze side of the border,"_ added Naruto, " _Looks like they've just finished their own squad of bandits, and are sending in their own shinobi, so you'll be getting help soon. Meanwhile, Neji and I are coming down in the truck, expect us in about twenty minutes."_

"Take your time," replied the jōnin. Gai turned to regard Tenten with a nod. She returned the nod before running up the wall, unfurling her storage scrolls. As she neared the top of the wall, the scrolls surrounded her on both sides, allowing her to summon weapons into her hands. "Sōshōryu!" Her targets didn't even have a chance to scream as they were nailed in the head with a variety of weapons.

As she landed, Lee and Gai began their charge, landing a jump-kick that knocked down several of the guards. "Dynamic Entry!" Upon landing, they both continued to fight their way through the army of spearmen. At the same time, Tenten was working hard to soften up the numbers that were coming for them, throwing weapons at approaching targets.

The chaos had reached a crescendo as bandits could be heard from the opposite side of the fortress. What had started off as a surprise attack from one side had quickly turned into two-pronged massacre as the Suna team began to close in. Team Gai saw the world set ablaze in fiery explosions as orange bursts of light illuminated the battlefield. A cursory glance to the side showed a blazing, winged form ascending before raining waves of burning energy upon the panicking brigands.

Turning their attention back to the fight, Team Gai began to push their way towards the burning figure, mowing down the guards as they began to close in. Midway through, they noted more bandits coming out of the fortress to fight back. Their weariness began to show as Tenten began to miss more frequently, and Gai and Lee became more sluggish by the second.

"There's too many of them!" Tenten cried, throwing more projectiles at the bandits.

"We can't give up now!" answered Lee, punching at several bandits, "We still have a mission to complete!"

As they were about to be drowned in large numbers, the remainder of Team Gai heard a familiar droning in the distance that got louder. Slowing to a stop from a lack of stamina, the bandits saw their opportunity to attack, only to be rammed by the truck. Tenten averted her gaze as several of the brigands were splattered all over the front of the vehicle; some were simply lucky they were launched into the wall for a somewhat cleaner death.

The passenger-side window lowered, allowing the shinobi team to see Naruto and Neji to look back at them.

"Get in!" Naruto barked as the back door automatically opened, "You guys could _really_ use the rest!"

Lee was about to say something, until Tenten cut him off. "Now's not the time! We're in no position to argue, so let's just take him up on his offer, and use this opportunity to rest up!"

Seeing as she was brokering no compromise, Lee and Gai rushed into the truck with Tenten in tow. As Naruto drove the truck through the crowd, they began to take in the carnage. They could see many of the bandits fleeing, but they also noted the large number of dead that littered the grounds. The thought of the bandits succeeding in their desire to form their own nation was disturbing; and yet, the occupants of the vehicle could not help but tip their hats at the sheer gall of their ambition.

The truck came to a slow halt in front of the shinobi team, with their accompanying Guardian in black. The gold-striped red trench coat she wore marked her as a Warlock, but she wore a bronze cat helmet with a polarized black visor. On her left bicep was a leather band with a golden plate and intricate inscriptions carved on its surface; the image of a cat head hovering over the gold plate. In her hands, she wielded a two-handed weapon that looked shorter than Naruto's 'sniper rifle' but was no less deadly.

Naruto opened the door, stepping out of the truck with Team Gai in tow as his helmet vanished in a flash of light. Upon closer inspection, they noted that the Suna team that had been assigned the mission was none other than Team Shira. Following them however was a kunoichi that was swathed in bandages and a jōnin flak jacket; likely their sensei judging by how she carried herself. "Well, well, if it isn't Team Shira," he noted, "You guys seem to be doing well since we last met."

As the Suna team processed where they'd heard the voice before, it was Shira who recognized. "You! What're you doing here?!"

"I'm the Guardian assigned to _this_ team," Naruto answered, "How was I supposed to know you guys are on the same mission?" He turned his attention to the Guardian with them. "How're things at the Vault?"

The Warlock's helmet parted at the junction where the visor met the top of the helmet before folding away to reveal a woman's face that seemed no older than in her mid-twenties. She had golden brown skin, a black tattoo under her right eye, and a very playful expression framed by midnight black hair that was held down with golden bands. Overall, she had very young and rounded feline features that promised no end of mischief to whomever offended her.

"Naia's got her hands full," answered, the cat-woman, "But I hear she's making progress on her research into a medicine for Fallen Guardians."

"If it's not one thing, then it's another," Naruto groused, "Team Gai, I'd like you to meet Bastet, one of the leading scientists in R&D…and a shameless fangirl of the infamous Guardian Osiris."

"Oh, if you knew all the things that Osiris-sama thought of, you'd be so thankful for the things we have today!" Bastet exclaimed.

"Can we focus?" Shira shouted, getting everyone's attention, "We still have a mission to complete!"

"On that note, we're in agreement," answered Bastet, "We'll catch up after this, Naruto-kun. So how are we approaching this?"

"I was thinking we might need some heavy fire support" added Naruto, indicating the weapon mounted on the back of the truck.

Bastet looked over his shoulder. "Not bad, .50 caliber I assume?"

"You know it," Naruto quipped, heading to the truck, "And it's got High-explosive rounds too."

"Do you not know the meaning of overkill?" teased Bastet.

"You'll change your tune when we run into a threat like Sayuri," Naruto retorted, pulling the machine gun off its mount, fiddling with the grips as he did. "Besides, Ivar wants this place torn down, and all the bandits evicted from this valley yesterday so he can try out his new Crucible match type."

"We'll see about that," Bastet sighed, turning to face the bandaged kunoichi, "How do you want to do this, Naoko?"

"We'll get in behind him," answered the female mummy, "I want to see what kind of weaponry he's rocking."

"That's just fine," Naruto replied, hopping down from the back of the truck. The weapon he wielded was massive, at least heavy enough to warrant carrying it by the hip with a foregrip over the business end, and at the back. It also had the addition of a large shield mounted near the foregrip, and it had a large box attached to the bottom.

"It's time for you to see what everyone's gonna be getting soon to help with the coming war…"

…

 _ **A/N: And there you have it…a chapter that will end in a cliffhanger. But don't you worry, there will be more action soon enough.**_

 _ **Sorry for the lack of music here, too deep in thought throughout.**_

 _ **In any case, I give a lot of credit to both NorthSouthGorem and UnitedOsprey1991 for beta-work and contributions that include ideas.**_

 _ **UO: Hope you guys enjoyed it. My contributions are small but impactful**_

 _ **Kuro: Anyway, give them both a read. And do review, would you kindly?**_

…

 _ **Cameos/References**_

 _ **Yukigakure Guardians━General Ironwood, and Weiss and Winter Schnee as Guardians.**_

 _ **Dr. Abraham Fabriek━NSGorem's own OP'd CYOA character.**_

 _ **Blood Gulch Squadron━If it wasn't obvious, these are the RVB idiots. The Box Canyon punishment was their first saga home.**_

 _ **Regulus and Magha━UnitedOsprey1991's Titan and Ghost respectively.**_

 _ **AH13━This is Achievement Hunter. Viking is Jack, Edgar is Ryan, Frado is Alfredo Diaz and Ursa is Michael**_

 _ **The battlefield on the Border of Konoha and Suna━It's pretty much the battlefield from DOTA. Konoha is Radiant, Suna is Dire.**_

 _ **Naruto's machine gun━pretty much Jorge-052's M247H heavy machine gun from "Halo: Reach."**_


End file.
